Selma Suzanne Pertl

Selma Suzanne Pertl, 79, passed in peace on the morning of February 17 in the home she’d worked a lifetime to create. After growing up in Cylinder, Iowa, she attended the Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa). She’d never seen a football game, never heard of a pizza, until college. After marrying in 1956, Sue, her husband Mars, and their children made homes in the college towns of Iowa City, Macomb, and Carbondale, before settling in Memphis in 1985. Sue worked in doctors’ offices around town, handling claims and scheduling, over the course of the next twenty years. She was a member of the Memphis I-Club and spent her weekends cheering the Hawkeyes, Tigers, and eventually the Grizzlies. After retirement, she volunteered for twelve years at St. Francis Hospital in Bartlett during the week and cherished her relationship with the community at Christ the King Lutheran Church. She became both an aqua chick and a certified spoon hanger, traveled the country to visit her grandchildren, and was never above the occasional trip to the casinos. She averaged ahead of the house. To those who knew her, she was a best friend to all, and one of the most genuinely selfless people they’d ever encountered. She is predeceased by her parents, Odne and Selma Stokka, her husband, Mars, and her sister-in-law, Jane. She is survived by her brother, Odne Stokka (Marlene) of Estherville, IA, brother-in-law Don (Miriam) of Columbia, SC, and sister-in-law Peggy Miller (Ray) of Council Bluffs, IA; her children, Steven (Tammie) of Memphis, David (Tammy) of Albion, Illinois, James of Murphysboro, Illinois, and Karen Zupancic (Gary) of Portland, Oregon; and her grandchildren, Matthew, Michael, Jenna, (Steven) Benjamin, Alexander, (David), Cameron, Spencer, and William (Karen). A reception will be held at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 5296 Park Avenue, Memphis, TN, 38119, on Tuesday, February 23 at 10 a.m. with service following at 11. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or Christ the King Lutheran Church. Online condolences may be made at www.FamilyFuneralMemphis.com

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