Although my Mom lived more than 96 years, it's a small consolation knowing she had a life that was both long and tremendously well-lived. We miss her terribly.

SUE ADRIENNE COLEMAN passed away Wednesday, October 20, 2021, at her home in San Jose, California. Born in 1925, Mom was christened Adriana Susana Figarola in Hollywood, California.

If a person's life can be measured by the positive impact and influence left upon a family, friends and professional colleagues, my mother Sue was arguably the greatest person who ever existed.

A child of the depression and a young adult in the war years, Mom was truly of The Greatest Generation. Sue's mother, Alice Lyons Carter, effectively raised Mom and her little brother Perry by herself through very tough times in the 1920s and 1930s. Mom got a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, raised six children and traveled extensively in Latin America and Europe, often with her children. She did the landscaping and built much of the furniture for the house she lived in and raised us kids in for more than 50 years. Mom managed the San Jose headquarters of the McGovern for President campaign (although I was just 13 years old, Mom had me hitting the bricks to canvas door-to-door). Soon thereafter, Mom started a new career as a court reporting instructor at West Valley College in Saratoga. To the admiration and astonishment of decades of grateful students, Mom maintained this active professional role in West Valley's court reporting department for nearly fifty years, right up to just weeks before she passed. Across nearly a century, almost to her last day, my Mom maintained her devout Catholic faith as well as her love of literature, music, movies, puzzles and a deep love of all animals. To the end, she never said no to a sip of cold beer or fine Spanish brandy. Everything Mom engaged in was done with wit, generosity and great style.

My Mom Sue is survived by her brother Perry Carter; by her children Elisa Marina Alvarado, Mara Torres, Sean Coleman and Sara Denn; by her grandchildren Emilio Gonzalez, Monica Ashtiani, Mark Torres, Raquel Torres, Shane Toyama, Riley Denn and Natalie Denn; and by her great-grandchildren Julian Ashtiani, Sean Ashtiani, Penelope Wheelock and Theo Wheelock.

A funeral mass will be held for Sue Adrienne Coleman at St. Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Church at 11 am Friday November 19, 2021. Per Mom's wishes, her ashes will be released on Monterey Bay.