Susie Jones Clizbe, 97, of Halifax passed away peacefully in her sleep the morning of Friday, Oct. 23, 2026.

She was born in Duplin County on Nov. 5, 1928, to Isaac Edmond Jones and Jabez Mobley Jones, the eighth of 13 siblings and third of seven lifelong inseparable sisters. The family moved to Halifax County when she was 7, joining the New Deal rural resettlement program in the Darlington area. With the family's hard work through those hard years, their resettlement was a success, and the entire family grew up to become successful and productive members of society. All five of her brothers who were old enough served in the armed forces during World War II.

Susie graduated from Aurelian Springs High School in 1947, after a stellar basketball career that had caught the eye of the Physical Education department at East Carolina Teachers College. In 1954, after taking time off in between terms to work at the very new Recreation Department in Roanoke Rapids and running the popular Teenage Club for RRHS students, she graduated from the renamed East Carolina College with a degree in PE and English minor. During her college career, intercollegiate women's athletics weren't available, but she excelled in intramural sports there.

She began her teaching career at Elizabeth City High School, where her first classes included future Duke University football Hall of Famer and later Coach Mike McGee and his twin brother, Jerry. Susie lived in the teacherage and occasionally visited the USO Club in Elizabeth City, where U.S. Navy sailors from the nearby Naval Air Station Weeksville's blimp hangars went for recreation. Over a ping-pong table, where she was handily dispatching all comers, she met a stronger challenger, and in November 1955, Susie and Frank Clizbe married. After his discharge from the Navy the following spring, they relocated to his hometown of Marshalltown, Iowa.

Over the next 15 years, the family grew by three with the births of Susan, Kent and John, and moved several times as Frank used the GI Bill for his education, then began his career. Undergraduate at Iowa State University in Ames and graduate school back at East Carolina were followed by teaching jobs in Illinois and Wisconsin and a federal civil service career, first with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Montana, then the U.S. Air Force in Puerto Rico.

During these moves, Susie continued her teaching career, PE at Ogden Junior High School in Iowa and substitute teaching in Wisconsin, Illinois and Montana. At Ramey Air Force Base in Puerto Rico, she switched to fifth grade and formed lifelong friendships with her teaching cohort. Returning to Halifax County in 1970, she was recruited to join the new special education program, where she excelled until her retirement in 1991. After two years at her alma mater, Aurelian Springs, now an elementary school, she moved to the newly opened William R. Davie Middle School for the rest of her career. She and a group of other Davie teachers called themselves the Wild Bunch and stayed friends throughout their lives, getting together several times a year.

Outside school, Susie played sports as long as her knees would let her. In Great Falls, Montana, and in Puerto Rico, she played on champion softball teams, and played recreational softball and then volleyball at the TJ Davis Recreation Center after returning to Roanoke Rapids. She was a founding member of the Halifax County ARC and the Halifax County Special Olympics program, and for many years ran a summer enrichment and recreation program for special education students.

Besides volunteering with American Red Cross blood drives for more than ten years, Susie donated thousands of volunteer hours to Halifax Memorial Hospital. She was a member of the Pilot Club of the Roanoke Valley, serving a term as president, and a member of Delta Kappa Gamma society for women educators. She attended several seminars at and through the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, taking advantage of any professional improvement available and mentoring newer teachers.

During her working years, she was able to travel some, and after retirement she did a great deal more. With three children who were at one time on three continents, just visiting them was a lot: among her destinations were London, Berlin, Malta, El Salvador, Malaysia, Texas, and California. She loved cruising with friends and family, going on several trips including the Panama Canal, Alaska and Canada.

Susie was predeceased by her parents, Isaac and Jabez Jones; brothers Talmadge, I.O., Dallas, Carl, Murdic, and Forrest; and sisters Nisha Mohorn, Velma Shanklin, and Hazelene Medlin. She is survived by her daughter, Susan, and sons Kent and John; daughters-in-law Jeanne Clizbe and Norliyah Clizbe; two grandsons, Eli and Isaac Clizbe; two granddaughters, Emma and Olivia Clizbe; a great-granddaughter, Payton Peifer; and a great-grandson, Finan Clizbe. Also surviving are her sisters Opal Loflin, Eudene Freuler, and Eleanor Hales; many nieces, nephews and their families; and a special former student and longtime family friend, Pearlie Richardson. The family greatly appreciates the people of Liberty Hospice who have been friends and helpers for the past months, especially Shannon and Capricia.

Visitation is at 1:00 PM on Friday, Nov. 6, at Hockaday Funeral and Cremation Service, with a memorial service following at 2:00 PM, with Reverend Randy Martin officiating.  Friends may sign the online register by visiting www.hockadayfs.com.  Susie chose to use aquamation, a new alternative to cremation, becoming the first at Hockaday to do so.  Hockaday Funeral & Cremation Service is serving her family during this time.