Sue Karen (Stearns) Davidson

Sue Karen Davidson

January 9, 1935 - December 27, 2024

Sue was born and raised in Fresno by her loving parents, Philip and Dorothy Stearns. After graduating from Fresno High early in 1953, Sue attended U.C. Berkeley, taking courses in Biology and Botany. While there she was introduced to Alan Davidson by mutual friends from Fresno. Sue and Alan were married at Carmel-by-the-Sea on February 22, 1956.

They moved to Fresno after Alan graduated from Hastings College of the Law and passed the bar exam. In Fresno, Sue and Alan created a nice home in which they raised their two sons, Phil and Brian. Sue returned to college at Fresno State and completed her Biology degree. She worked at St. Agnes Hospital as a Medical Technologist.

In 1974 the family moved from Fresno to Lompoc. There they found time to connect with and enjoy the community and to pursue arts and charitable initiatives. Sue and Alan moved from Lompoc to Santa Rosa in 1991 to be near Phil and Brian. They lived happily in the Oakmont community since then, with Sue again transforming their house into a beautiful home.

Spanning the journey from Fresno to Santa Rosa, Sue and Alan were able to develop and pursue other passions:  They loved to travel to Great Britain primarily, and to France, Germany, and Switzerland, finding places to visit that were “off the beaten path”. With her passion for Great Britain and for painting landscapes, she started Hedgehog Tours as a business and led several tours in Great Britain. She and Alan also spent most of 1984 there, exploring the country in depth and making many friends.

Sue played the piano and loved making ceramic pottery and sculptures, as well as painting landscapes in oil, watercolor, and acrylics.

Sue and Alan spent many summers in the Sierra Nevada at Providence Creek near Dinkey Creek, CA.

In Lompoc, Sue was a member of the Children’s Home Society and the Lompoc Valley Art Association.

Sue is survived by: her two sons, Philip (and his wife, Karen) and Brian (and his wife, Keri Mondragon), both families now living in Santa Rosa; grandson Christopher; Karen Davidson’s daughter Jessica Swinning and Jessica’s two daughters. She was preceded in death by her parents and by her husband of 57 years, Alan Davidson.

Family and friends are welcome to attend a memorial on February 1st. If you would like to attend, please call 925-951-3941 for time and location.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Redwood Empire Food Bank, 3990 Brickway Blvd, Santa Rosa, CA 95403 (www.refb.org) or to a charity of your choice.

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