Obituary of Suellen Lampson

Sue (Scarlett) Lampson, 74, passed away unexpectedly in her home while recovering from minor surgery in Aptos Ca. on April 4th , 2014 Scarlett was born in South Bend Indiana to Harold (Mickey) and Olga Keller on March 21st, 1940. She earned her bachelor's degree in Nursing from the University of Michigan and later received her Master's in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling from Santa Clara University. She lived and worked in Los Gatos Ca. as a Public Health Nurse and later a Therapist for over 25 years, until her retirement in 2005 when she moved to Aptos, California. She always enjoyed helping people and was deeply involved in volunteer work at the Santa Cruz Library and as a Peer Counselor for the Senior Outreach Services of Santa Cruz. She was also an active member of the Santa Cruz Diversity Center. She had a multi-faceted background in nursing and counseling but in her last few years she was deeply involved, dedicated and connected to her volunteer work especially at the Senior Outreach Program, which provides free peer-counseling services for seniors 55 and older and is sponsored by the Family Service Agency of the Central Coast. She loved counseling seniors, training and mentoring new peer-counselors, supervising other peer-counselors, and enhancing the training and educational itinerary of the program. Counselors and clients were drawn not only to Scarlett's counseling expertise but to her comic personality and love of humor, which was in so many ways therapeutic to clients and counselors alike. Scarlett was a unique combination of activism and service with humor to the senior community. Scarlett was a woman who honored her experiences and told her stories with transparent honesty and humor. A woman who fearlessly exerted her truest self and sat in circles with people and reminded them about the truth of who they were. A woman who celebrated the accumulation of years and her wisdom, and then shared that with others after carefully listening to them. A woman who listened to her own needs and met them with tenderness. She spent most of her time with her children and grandchildren; attending various sporting and musical events. She loved to travel and was never without a book or crossword puzzle. She could talk about her cat, Jamie or the latest British comedy on PBS for hours. Although her first few attempts at Stand-Up Comedy did not go as well as she had hoped, she seems to have made everyone she has ever met smile and her infectious laugh will always be remembered. She is survived by her two children: Her son, Taylor Lampson and his wife Brighid of Sebastopol, California, and her daughter, Lori Trebbien and Husband Dan of Santa Cruz, California and her four grandchildren; Evan and Claire Lampson, and Cole and Zach Trebbien. Her Brother Mike Keller resides in New Mexico. Scarlett will forever be remembered as a wonderful, caring mother and friend. She cared deeply about her family and friends and will always be remembered as kind, thoughtful, intelligent and funny. Her sense of humor and genuine personality gained her many long and close friendships. She will be greatly missed by those who knew and loved her. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the following: Senior Outreach Services of Santa Cruz- FSA, 104 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz, CA 95060 with a notation "Scarlett Lampson's memory." Diversity Center with "In memory of Sue "Scarlett" Lampson, 60+ Senior Program" 1117 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, Ca 95062 A Celebration of her life will be held on June 15th at a location to be determined.