Suzanne Faber

On June 29, 2014, Suzanne (Sue) Faber, 72, passed away peacefully at her home in Dublin, Ohio. She was joined at her bedside by a house full of loved ones, including Fred, her husband of 51 years; daughters Nikki and Kate; and five grandchildren. Sue lived her final days as she’d lived her entire life: surrounded by dear family and friends, laughing and telling stories. Sue grew up in Jackson, Ohio. After graduating from Jackson High, she and Fred—her high school sweetheart—moved to Columbus, where they raised a loving family in Clintonville and then Powell, before moving to Worthington and, finally, Dublin. Though plagued with medical issues as a young mother, she overcame that challenge, never making herself the focus of the struggle. Instead she found joy in her daughters, nieces, nephews, and in the group of faithful friends that grew ever-larger with every year. Sue’s daughters would say that she was put on this earth to be a mom—not only to them but also to any number of their friends who might have been in need of guidance, support, or the feeling of home. The Fabers were a family of 4, but it was common for there to be 6 or 8 or 10 people sitting around the dinner table. On those occasions, Fred would call Sue “The Pied Piper of Kids.” Recently, after cheering-on her grandchildren through their soccer, football, lacrosse, and baseball games, taekwondo lessons, and stints in rock bands, she had become “The Pied Piper of Grandkids.” Sue was an accomplished organist, and she played at numerous prominent weddings and funerals at Immaculate Conception Church and at St. Joseph Cathedral. She was also a gifted and caring educator, and whether she was leading a class of grammar school kids or giving piano lessons, she was always invested in her students’ well-being and proud of their many successes. Nothing made her happier than to stumble upon a former student—or any of the kids for whom she had played the role of second mom—and to discover where life had taken them since they’d left her classroom, piano bench, or dining room table. Beyond her skills at the chalkboard and the keyboard, Sue was an expert at cutting homemade noodles for her famous Jackson County Chicken and Noodles recipe. Her secret? Don’t make them too perfect. Sue was preceded in death by her parents, William and Margaret Flemington. She is survived by her husband Fredrick; daughters Nichole Brinker and Kate (Joe) Oestreich; grandsons Ross Faber, Jacob Brinker, Nathan Brinker, and Beckett Oestreich; granddaughter Eleanor Oestreich; and sister Janeen (Peter) Wagner. A celebration of Sue’s life will be held at Rutherford Funeral Home in Powell, Ohio, on Wednesday, July 2. The viewing will be from 4 to 6:30 p.m., followed by a brief service with song. Although Fred, Nikki, and Kate understand that they will think of Sue every day for the rest of their lives, they know that they are lucky because she is leaving them with the strength to survive her absence. A few hours before she passed away, while holding the hands of her husband and daughters, Sue smiled and told them that when she looked back on her life, “It was awesome.” In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the American Diabetes Association, Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research or the Kidney Foundation of Ohio.