Suzan Beth Carlile

It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of our sister Suzan Beth Carlile, 63, of Sanibel Florida who left us on 10th of January 2024.

Suzan was a graduate of Hutchison School (’78) in Memphis Tennessee and The University of the South (’82) in Sewanee Tennessee. She was an employee of Federal Express for 31 years in a career that took her to live in Denver Colorado, Edison New Jersey, and Burke Virginia before retiring to her beloved Sanibel Island which was her home until Hurricane Ian took nearly all from her. Most recently she found her final home on Signal Mountain in Chattanooga with a balcony overlooking a tree-filled view.

Throughout her life her church was her anchor, whether singing in the choir, streaming services while in Alaska, listening to carols in All Saints Chapel, or keeping in touch with friends of 40, 50 and 60 years. Most enduring were the friendships she made her senior year at Hutchison and through her four years in Sewanee, as well as her âsistersã on Sanibel. She loved photography, sending out an annual calendar featuring her âpinupsã from the previous year which were the photographs she collected in her travels and usually featured natural settings, particularly J.N. âDingã Darling NWR. Competition for her time behind the camera came from needlepoint and quilting, a creativity best realized in a quilt she made of her time at Sewanee. She loved baseball as a fan of the Cubs, Nationals, and Yankees. Equal was her passion for basketball and she followed every Tennessee team, men or women, sometimes watching three games at once, but her favorite days were watching baseball games at a AA diamond or a Princeton Tigers homestand.

Preceding her in death are her parents Jim and Nancy Carlile. She is survived by her sister Breeze Carlile of Oakland, CA; as well as her brother Thad Carlile of Memphis, TN; brother Jeff Carlile of Ogunquit, ME and nephews Christopher and Andrew; brother Scoop (Jane) Carlile of Houston, TX and nephews Cooper and Julian plus niece Analiese; a sister-in-law Carolyn Carlile of Memphis; seventeen cousins; and countless friends.

A celebration of her life will be held 15 May 2024 2:00pm at Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Memphis Tennessee.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a contribution to the Boys and Girls Clubs, or Big Arts Sanibel Island.