The following message was sent by Mary Wells, dean of engineering, to engineering staff and faculty.
Dear Colleagues,
It is with great sadness, that I am writing to let you know of the passing of Sue Gooding, a long-serving staff member. Sue served our University and Faculty with unmatched dedication for an incredible 44 years. Sue died on Saturday July 24th, 2021 after a courageous battle with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.
Joining the University of Waterloo in May 1977, Sue started her career as a parking attendant and used her commitment, intellect and dedication to work her way up to become an invaluable member of the Faculty of Engineering’s administrative team. Sue was a tireless and devoted employee and was usually the first in the office in the morning and the last to leave in the evening. It was not unusual to find her working in her office at 10 pm on weekdays; she was also frequently present on weekends.
As the Faculty of Engineering’s space expansion program started, Sue took on the important role as the Operations Manager in 2005 and was then
Sue Gooding worked at the University of Waterloo for 44 years.
With blueprints and floor plans filling her office in CPH, she worked tirelessly to make sure all department requests were fulfilled, and every last-minute change was made. She was also responsible for coordinating often complicated department moves into the new buildings and other engineering spaces.
The result today is a set of new buildings that are the envy of the rest of the University and of other Engineering Faculties in the country.
A kind and generous person, Sue was a passionate supporter of engineering students and went above and beyond to ensure they had the equipment and space they needed to succeed. An example of this was in 2005 when Sue had her head shaved by EngSoc members in the CPH foyer to raise money for the Canadian Cancer Society in memory of two engineering students who had died from cancer. In her personal life, she was also a passionate volunteer and gave willingly and generously of both her time and many talents to all of those around her.
The Faculty’s thoughts and support are with Sue’s husband, Mike her two daughters (Mallory and Courtney) and her family. Sue’s funeral will take place in the funeral home chapel at Henry Walser on Sunday, August 1stand visitation with her family will be held on Saturday, July 31st from 4-7 pm. Visit www.henrywalser.com for Susan's memorial.
Our University flags will be lowered to half-mast on the day of Sue’s funeral to honour her.
I know many of you who worked with Sue and knew her well will feel incredible sadness in reading this news. I encourage all members of our campus community who are affected by this news and feel they need support to contact any of the following resources:
Counselling
Services - 519-888-4567
ext.
32655
Here
24/7 - 1-844-437-3247
Health
Services
-
Student
Medical
Clinic - 519-888-4096
Grand
River
Hospital - 519-749-4300
St.
Mary's
Hospital - 519-744-3311
Good2Talk - 1-866-925-5454
Crisis
Services
Canada - 1-833-456-4566 or
by
text
45645
Mary