Judy Suzanne Overholt

Judy Suzanne Overholt

March 2, 1953 to August 21, 2026

Judy Suzanne Overholt, 73, of Grand Junction, Colo., passed away at Community Hospital due to complications following a surgery. She was surrounded by her loving family and passed peacefully. Suzanne was born March 2, 1953 in Uravan, Colorado, to Olton Richard Cross and Doris Laverne (McMillan) Cross. She was the younger sister of Richard and Vicki. The family soon relocated back to O’Donnel, Texas, where she later became proud older sister to Deb. Suzanne spent her early childhood in West Texas, where she spent wonderful, though hot and dusty, days playing with her siblings, and her cousins Terry Ann and Jerry McMillan. The group most fondly remembered spending afternoons at their beloved Grandmother Jewel’s diner. Suzanne’s father, ever the rolling stone, moved the family often during her school years as he traveled for work as a building contractor for the Department of Defense. Suzanne often told stories about the family’s lives in locations such as Aurora, Colo., Kansas City, Mo., and her favorite location of all, Fort Walton Beach, Fla. At the end of those contracts, the family returned to Texas for a brief period, before wanderlust finally landed them back in Southwestern Colorado, living on a small ranch property near the rural town of Ignacio, where Suzanne would enroll in the local high school and eventually meet her high school sweetheart, Dennis Beaty.

Suzanne and Dennis married in 1969, and welcomed their first child, a daughter they named Tammy, in May 1970. Suzanne finished her GED and transitioned into life as a stay at home mom for a time while Dennis served in the National Guard and attended college, then the Colorado State Patrol Academy. They welcomed daughter number two, Melissa in April 1972. By June 1974, the family had moved to the far eastern edge of Colorado to Flagler, for Dennis’ first assignment with the State Patrol, and welcomed their youngest daughter, Teresa. The family remained in Flagler until 1978, when they relocated back to Southwestern Colorado, this time settling in the Cortez area where she would live until 1987.

As Suzanne completed her little family, and her children started to school, she began to venture out into the working world a little at a time. And looking back, it seems like she did a little bit of everything along the way. She was a lifeguard at the local pool, a bus driver for the high school, worked at a dry cleaners, refinished furniture, and provided home daycare for other working moms. She worked retail jobs, waited tables, and did some hotel and commercial cleaning. And at various times, she tried her hand at selling Tupperware, Avon, Mary Kay, and several other home-party based retail brands.

Around 1981, she started down what would turn out to be her life’s work – the medical field. She started as an Emergency Medical Technician and then earned her EMT-Intermediate certification in 1985 and started as an instructor for Red Cross First Aid and CPR courses. When Suzanne was not working, she was always busy volunteering in the community. First, she was a Girl Scout leader for the girl’s troops. Then, for several years, she and Dennis opened their home to foster more than a dozen children. In 1980, she was also volunteering at the Cortez Welcome Wagon, and by 1982, she was a leader for the local 4-H club, an EMT at the stock car racetrack, and a member of both the Civil Air Patrol and Montezuma County United Search and Rescue. In 1984 she joined the Lewis Arriola Volunteer Fire Department, and was a founding member of the K-9 Search and Rescue Team of Dolores, the first-ever search dog team in Montezuma County, training her beloved German Shepherd, Danny, with skill and dedication.

During these years, she also became a certified law enforcement officer and served as a Reserve Deputy for the Montezuma County Sheriff's Office for a short time before making the decision to apply to the Nursing Program at Mesa State College in Grand Junction.

In 1987, while daughter Tammy was spending a year studying abroad, Suzanne, Melissa, and Teresa moved to Grand Junction so she could start her RN program, and, to support her sister Deb in caring for her husband Carl, who had been seriously injured in an accident. While returning to full-time work as an EMT, and raising two teenage girls, she took on a full-time courseload, knocking out her degree and becoming licensed in 1989. Shortly afterward, while working on the pediatric unit at St. Mary’s Hospital, she would meet and marry her current husband of 36 years, Dennis Overholt of Grand Junction. (Yes, she married TWO men named Dennis, in case anyone thought that was a typo.)

Suzanne encouraged Dennis to go into nursing as well, and soon they moved back to Cortez so he could attend school there while she returned to work at Southwest Memorial Hospital where she had started her career as an EMT. It was 1992, and they were now empty nesters, able to do more moving and travel. The next 22 years often found them working together at the same facilities, including the Veteran’s Administration Hospital, La Villa Grande, Mantey Heights, and Larchwood care centers, interspersed with many years spent travel nursing at locations from coast to coast.

In 2000, she enrolled in school again, this time earning a Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management from Colorado Christian University.

Suzanne finished her nursing career in 2018 with her final decade before retirement spent working for Hope West Hospice both on the Home Care Team and at the Care Center.

Like her father, Suzanne never let the moss grow beneath her feet. She was always off and moving, trying new things, seeing new places, and looking for different experiences to enjoy with Dennis and her extended family.

Suzanne is survived by: her husband of 36 years, Dennis Overholt; her daughters Melissa Keele and Teresa Black; Sons-in-Law Kirk Black and Burke Martin; Grandchildren Stephanie and Peyton Fyke, Jet Bashara, Ronny and Andy Keele, Keira Keele, Jaden Keele, Connor and Jeneve Martin, Erin Martin, and Rider Black; Great-Grandchildren Dallas Black, Riley Kim, Alexander Keele and Oliver Fyke; Brothers-in-Law Tim and Jim Overholt – all of Grand Junction; Grandchildren, Dakota and Shena Black and Great-Grandchildren Nora and Beau Black of Pensacola, Fla.; and Grandchildren Sierra and Jacob Crofts, and Great-Grandchildren Lillian and Ronan Crofts, of Clover, SC; Sister and brother-in-law, Deb and Dana Meshishnek of Deary, ID; Sister and brother-in-law Vicki and Ron Wheeler, of Ulysses, KS.; Cousins Jerry McMillan of Dallas, TX; Terry Stahl of Snyder, TX; her first spouse, Dennis Beaty of Delores, CO; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins across the country.

Suzanne was preceded in death by: her grandparents, Pete and Jewel McMillan; her parents Olton “Bud” and Doris Cross; her daughter, Tammy Martin; Son-in-law Ron Keele; and Brother-in-law Carl Cortez.

One of Suzanne’s proudest accomplishments was completing her GED at age 17, and then going on to become a nurse and earning a Bachelor of Science later in life, despite once being told she married and had children too young, and would never amount to anything in life because of it. To that end, she would have loved for memorial donations to be directed to support the education or achievement of a young person who is in a similar situation and would like to pursue a career (particularly in nursing). Alternatively, donations in her name can be made to Hope West’s PACE Program, which has provided Suzanne and Dennis with care, support, and social activity over the last 18 months.

The family will host a celebration of Suzanne’s life on Saturday, August 29th from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Long Family Memorial Park Mt. Garfield shelter (near the pond-use the north entrance and parking off 3118 F Rd). Please come share your stories and memories.

——-——————————-

Now that we have gone through all the facts and dates and places that made up the chronology of Suzanne’s life, let’s talk about what made her uniquely, wonderfully our cherished Suzie.

Suzie had a caregiver’s heart. With strong Scottish roots, maybe she was simply predestined to be just who she was. After all, among other families, Suzie was a descendant of the ancient MacMillans, whose Clan motto was “Miseris Succurrere Disco” (I learn to aid the unfortunate). Just look back at her history, and you can see that caring for others was the golden thread that weaves its way through her story from beginning to end. She was also a gatherer. She gathered people around her like a flock and cared for them. One example of this was taking in foster children and another was the infinite extra seats at her table each holiday season. No matter how many people were planned to attend, there was always room for the single coworker or friend from out of town who didn’t have family to spend the holiday with.

When her girls were teens, they never even had to ask if their friends could spend days or even weeks at a time at her house. Melissa’s friend Missy was around so often, she was treated like one of her own girls in every sense, including grounding for coming “home” late.

There was usually no “ex” added when she spoke about Dennis Beaty, he was simply her “first” husband, and his subsequent partners were always welcomed in her home with a grace that mystified outsiders who didn’t understand who she was.

And there was no “step” spoken before any of her grandchildren or great-grand’s names. Regardless of blood relation, they were just another of her grandbabies.

Being a grandma was probably her favorite of all her roles in life. Though we all came to jokingly refer to her as “the mean, evil grandma,” she was neither mean nor evil. She simply balanced all that intense love with an expectation of discipline and respect when the grands were with her.

Suzie, though she started out in life a bit timid and insecure, really grew to be a spitfire starting in her early 20s. Possibly emboldened by the early feminists, she stepped into her own power when she realized that there was little more than her own fears holding her back. Once that veil was lifted, there was nothing she was too intimidated to try. She demonstrated this many times over by repeatedly breaking new ground in pursuits that had traditionally been closed off to women, such as becoming an EMT, fighting fires, working her search dog, and becoming a deputy, which included getting in a shootout with an armed suspect. At just 5’2”, she had no problem going toe to toe with the biggest man in the room if she got mad enough.

One of son-in-law Kirk’s favorite stories was their first meeting when she introduced herself by saying, “Hi, I’m Teresa’s mom Suzanne. I killed a man once. Do you want to see the gun?” She was, of course, referring to the line of duty shooting of the armed suspect, but leaving out that little detail was her fun way of intimidating her daughter’s new boyfriend and putting him on notice not to mess with her daughter or he’d be dealing with her!

Suzie’s years working as a first responder conditioned her to crave excitement and endure intensely emotional situations. For years after leaving emergency medicine, she would still perk up whenever she would hear sirens. But as she settled into hospital and care center nursing, and it being just her and Dennis at home, she began to mellow — a bit. Her interests turned more to creative pursuits like crochet, crafting, ceramics, and gardening. She absolutely doted on the many dogs (Toby, Brooke, Holly, Mara, Cocoa, and Roscoe) she and Dennis adopted over the years, despite her fervent pledge that “after you girls move out, I’m never getting another animal!”

She always retained her inner strength for carrying the intense emotions of other’s suffering while doing the hard work that needed to be done before she would allow herself to break down and “feel.” She was the steadfast caregiver at end of life for both her father and grandmother, even taking a job in the same nursing home where her grandmother lived out her last days so she could be there to provide care.

She cared for her mother and brother-in-law as well. But nothing showed this part of her more than the way she handled Tammy’s illness and death. She took on her caregiver role, supporting everyone around her throughout the two-year journey, and only really set it down long enough to be a grieving mother on the night Tammy passed. Then it was back to being a rock for all of us and falling apart in private.

Suzie was a hard worker. She was known for working long hours and night shifts — but that is just nursing, right? What stood out was what she did outside of the norm. She was always quick to volunteer to work the holidays so her coworkers with young children could have the day off. Though that meant she would miss spending the day with her kids and grands, she remembered what it was like to have to work those days when her own kids were little and felt it was only right to do better than what was done to her. That was who she was. Self-sacrifice was a value and never portrayed as an imposition or burden.

When the grandkids asked for pancakes after she had worked a long shift, they got pancakes. She was there for all their special events and cheering them on no matter what.

Whether it was helping someone move or do yard work or painting or watching the grandbabies, all anyone had to do was mention a need, and Suzie was there, usually on zero sleep after working a 14-hour shift.

Her sacrifices were not just for family. There were countless times when Suzie would stay up after a shift, or get up early, to bake and decorate a custom birthday cake for one of the patients at Hope West’s Hospice program. When she worked there, every birthday was celebrated, and rarely with some store-bought cake.

Teresa’s favorite example of this selflessness was when she wrecked her truck and trailer while moving back from California and was too nervous to drive it the rest of the way from Las Vegas to Colorado Springs. Within three hours of her call home to mom, Suzie had hopped on a plane to Las Vegas and drove Teresa’s truck and trailer the rest of the way for her.

Melissa recalled, “Mom was never afraid to take on a new challenge. Whether it was a job, a craft, a volunteer position, an educational opportunity, or an adventure she just jumped in. If she was afraid, you’d never know it.

The thing I’ve always admired about her was her ability to talk to anyone. She never met a stranger. She could strike up a conversation with anyone and it was always genuine and natural. She had a way of making people open up and feel heard.” Suzie put this into action once, much to the girl’s chagrin, on their girl’s cruise in 2014. She encountered a drunken stranger stumbling around the pool deck and insisted they should escort the man safely back to his cabin before continuing on to lunch. She chatted him up the whole way as though they’d been friends for years! Her servant’s heart couldn’t even take a vacation.

We could literally write a book full of the many, many funny and heartwarming stories about this amazing woman. But eventually we must wrap this account of her life up. How do we simply summarize such an amazingly loving, kind, and giving woman’s 73 years in our lives? I guess by saying our lives will be forever a little less colorful without her in them, but that she filled each of us with enough light and love to show us the way to eternity.

Whether you knew her as Judy S., Suzanne, Suzie, Sister, Mom, Ma-in-law, or Grandma, please take that light she gave you out in the world and do something kind for someone else in her honor.