Sue Halliburton

Sue Halliburton

Sue Halliburton, loving wife, mother and Suzie, best friend and passionate teacher of “nouns and verbs” left this earth early Thursday after a fierce month-long fight against a variety of medical nastiness.
In the end, she spent her last important moments Thursday morning with her three children. No family could be closer.

Her life celebration will be two days. Visitation is Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Claybar Funeral Home in Orange. The funeral is Sunday at 2 p.m. at First Christian Church in Orange, with burial at Evergreen Cemetery.
Halliburton, 83, was born in Silsbee to L.A. and Celeste Yankie on April 7, 1934. She was their only child. She graduated early from high school and enrolled at the University of Texas. That’s where she met future husband, Grover Halliburton.

After earning her degree from Texas, Halliburton taught school for more than four decades in Orange, Port Arthur and outside Austin. She helped put her husband through UT Law School, then the family moved back to Orange, her husband’s hometown, in 1969. Halliburton taught English and grammar for 30 years at Little Cypress Junior High School.

She always joked that her only talent was teaching “nouns and verbs.” What a huge, important talent she had. She impacted thousands of students because she was the perfect combo of tough, attentive teacher with a light, fun touch.

So how do you sum up a life that touched nine decades?

Family was most important. She raised her kids to believe the same. The friends of her children and grandchildren were part of her family as well.

She never missed a day teaching school. Her husband was a big personality, but so was she. When he ran for county judge in the 1970s, Halliburton knocked on doors for her husband, helped paint political signs in the backyard and shook hands at the polls.

When Grover died in 2004, her family became even more important. She spent time with her granddaughters, who called her “Suzie.” She traveled from New Orleans to Cape Cod to Paris and Canada. She took quick trips to Austin for Longhorn football games. She and her best friend hit up garage and estate sales every Saturday morning. She “played bridge” with the only group of ladies in town who didn’t play bridge. She’d fix them a mean “Peach Fuzzy” and the women would catch up on the town gossip.

She had the greenest of thumbs and always was buying flowers for her yard. In the spring, her flower beds, no matter where she lived, were covered in caladiums and roses. She volunteered at Shangri La Botanical Gardens in Orange.

Part of her charm was pushing food and fixing cocktails. You couldn’t tell her no. If you did, she’d eventually break down your will. She also had no filter and said whatever was on her mind. Frequently, it was flirty, but she’d smile and say “who pays attention to an old lady.”

Ever the sorority girl, she loved to socialize. Her perfect evening, no matter where it was spent, involved sitting outside on a patio, with a half drink of bourbon in her hand. If the mood struck, she’d jump up and do her old “Yay maroon” cheerleading routine from Silsbee High. She also was infamous for singing the “Dingle Dongle” song. Every fall Saturday was a huge party because the Texas Longhorns were on the TV.

She talked to each of her children every single day. She always said “I love you.”

Halliburton is preceded in death by her husband, Grover, the former lawyer and two-term Orange County Judge, and her parents. Left to grieve her absence are her daughters Suzanne Halliburton and Holly Callahan and son Cleve Halliburton; daughter-in-law Colleen Halliburton; son-in-law Alvin Callahan, granddaughters Erinn Callahan and Samantha Halliburton and dog, Lucy Lou.