Larkspur Conservation – Nashville, Tennessee

Obituary

Susan Cole Sweetser

Powell - Susan Cole Sweetser passed away May 21, 2022, with her loving husband Allen Sweetser by her side. Together, they enjoyed a love of nature, wildflowers, family, and friends. Together, they joined the community of volunteers leading the Wildflower Pilgrimage for 24 years. Their greatest passion, the passion that surrounded their marriage, was the joy of wildflowers and their place in nature. Their marriage was rooted in this passion and together, they never stopped asking "What's this?" In Susan's memory, Allen invites everyone to "join the quest." Susan was the president of the Appalachian Arts Craft Center, served in a long list of leadership roles with the Tennessee Native Plant Society, and was a prolific wildflower and nature photographer. She retired after four decades working in social services for the State of Tennessee, caring for the most vulnerable in our community and training others to carry on that work. A graduate of Knoxville Catholic High School and the University of Tennessee, she cared deeply for her community, for justice, and for her family. She was preceded in death by her parents Bill and Imogene Cole and her brother John Cole. In addition to her husband, she leaves behind her sister Patricia Thurston (Tim), and her in-laws Mary Cole, Janice Bruce (Wayne), Robbie Sweetser (Jenny), and Sharon Pound (Larry), and a multitude of nieces and nephews, cousins, and hundreds of people who will miss her kindness, strength, unconditional love, and "Sweetser-ritas." In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made in her memory to the Appalachian Arts Crafts Center or the Tennessee Native Plant Society. Services will be held on Tues., May 31, at noon, central time, at Larkspur Conservation at Taylor Hollow, 155 Bear Carr Rd., W. Moreland, TN. This natural burial will involve a one-mile roundtrip hike to a wooded site surrounded by meadows and wildflowers. Parking is limited, and guests are encouraged to carpool (for more details, see https://larkspurconservation.org/directions-and-visitor-guide). Additionally, a gathering of friends and family will be held in Knoxville to celebrate her amazing life; details will be shared soon.