Susie Irene Poenitz

Introduction
After almost 91 years of life, Susie Irene Poenitz peacefully slipped into Sabbath rest on August 23, 2014. Following numerous health challenges with heart bypass surgery, hip surgery, 2 significant strokes, and more, Mom rose each time from her ailments to realize 4 score and 10 years--2 decades longer than Biblically promised. Dad remembers after one stroke episode, going to the rehab facility 99 times one month to help mom open her plastic food containers at each meal when mom’s fingers couldn’t function as efficiently. Mom yearned to stay home when hospitals and rehab centers came calling for her destiny so many times. Not until her final stroke on August 15, did she succumb on Sabbath morning, August 23, and now sleeps in the grave awaiting the Life-Givers call at Jesus 2nd coming.
Birth
She was born in Wichita Falls, Texas on August 25, 1923 to Ewald & Christena Belz. Her parents moved early in her life, working as farmers/share croppers from north Texas to central Texas. Later, they moved back to north Texas, residing in Sanger, their final 400 acre farm home. And you can still see the Belz exit sign located on I-35 north of Sanger, TX.
Homework
During her life, her dad, Ewald Belz, modeled and instilled in her a strong work ethic while milking cows very early in the morning. Susie & her dad would each milk 6 cows before dawn then following breakfast having no use for wasted time, Susie chopped cotton and Johnson grass in the fields with other family members. She watched her mom, Christena, work her proverbial fingers to the bone, making sure everyone at the Belz table was sufficiently fed with her delicious meals. I don’t believe she ever sat down to eat herself during the meal. This parental work ethic transferred to Susie in the home, workplace, church, etc.
School Days
Mom’s elementary and high school years were completed in Era near Gainesville. She fondly remembers her visits with classmates at her 50th year high school reunion. Over the years she kept in touch with a couple of these dear friends.
Courtship & Marriage
Nowald’s sister-in-law, Mary Paenitz, arranged for Susie & Nowald to meet during the Texas Conference camp meeting. The year is illusive, but we know it was before 1941. Following that matchmaking experience things moved along to where Nowald took her for a car ride and then kissed her during that first date!
Aunt Mary’s model of match-making was contagious; because later in life mom arranged meetings for several other couples!
Their courtship was interrupted when Uncle Sam invited Nowald to join the armed forces during WWII. From 1941 – 1945 they kept in touch through letters. Upon his return & discharge from WWII, Nowald entered Barber School in Dallas. On weekends he visited Susie in Ft. Worth where she worked at Jack’s Cookie Factory. Susie’s strong work ethic was demonstrated on the way to work the day before they were married, a train was temporarily stopped on the tracks and rather than be late, she crawled under the train car’s belly and made it to work on time.
In September 1947 while Susie traveled by bus to San Francisco, CA for a church youth congress, the ladies of her Valley View Seventh-day Adventist church decided to take things in their own hands and help move this courtship along. So, in her absence and without Nowald’s knowledge, they arranged, planned, and conducted a wedding shower for Susie and Nowald. Upon her return they gave her the gifts and told her they were going to tell Nowald now. But she said, “No, let me break it to him easy.” When she told him he said, “Well, I guess we’d better set a date.” That date was a month later. The day of the wedding, Nowald worked until noon at the barber shop and then picked Susie up in their 41 Ford and drove to her parents house all the while Susie held their wedding cake on her lap. Nowald’s niece and her husband stood up for them at the wedding. So, thanks to the pushing of the Valley View ladies, Susie and Nowald were married on October 16, 1947 at the home of her parents, Ewald & Christena Belz in Sanger, Texas with 100 friends & relatives present. This October would have marked 67 years of marriage. Following the wedding and reception, Nowald and Susie took Teora and Frank Ulrich, their attendants, and their college friends all home before going back to their apartment on May Street. Having little money, they both went back to work the following day.
To this home were born 2 children, Steve and Brenda. They were her pride and joy and she was their number one cheerleader.
She and Nowald enjoyed many trips around the country with Steve & his wife, Erney. They traveled to New York City, Victoria, BC; Portland, Oregon and other cities in Oregon, Napa, CA and Greeneville, TN enjoying sites and scenery with them. The memory that stands out most for Susie was going to Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia.
Child Care
After Susie and Nowald were married she worked as a literature evangelist in the Publishing Department of the Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. She sold Uncle Arthur’s Bible Story books with Elder J.T. Welch as her supervisor. During this time Susie and Nowald were able to buy their first car as a couple through the Texas Conference. Colporteurs had a privilege to buy cars cheaper through the church organization after the war. Nowald traveled to Macon, GA to get this car.
After they had Steve and Brenda, and in order to stay home with them, when they were young, she cared for other children in her home. She also supervised child care at the Watauga Baptist Church on Sundays to lighten the financial load dad carried.
Food Service
When her children became school age, Susie and Nowald enrolled them in Ft. Worth Jr. Academy on Lipscomb St., later to become Burton Adventist Academy in Arlington. Then, mom took her cooking skills to a new chapter in her life working in food service at Birdwell and O.D. Wyatt High Schools in Haltom City and Ft. Worth, Texas.
Gardening
Mom loved her family and teamed with dad and the children in stocking the freezers and pantry with frozen corn, green beans, strawberries, peaches, black-eyed peas, tomatoes, etc. from the garden. Several years ago in the fall, Susie shelled probably 100 lbs of pecans after dad and the extended family cracked them open.
Church
Over the years, Mom served in several Metroplex Seventh-day Adventist churches as deaconess, Sabbath School secretary, and member of the bereavement ministry committee, taking many meals to funerals and church potlucks.
In recent years they enjoyed the formerly known Fred Thomas Sabbath School class. This class offered friendship and fellowship as well as Bible study.
Loyalty Champion
Mom’s family was a priority for her. She helped Brenda many times baby sitting the grandkids, cleaning, ironing or helping in whatever way a doting grandmother could. She was always championing whatever Steve was doing and wherever he was working. Dad, was her main concern and love of her life. She took pride in making sure his meals were always on the table on time and worried that he was eating enough. We all miss the luscious, pecan-filled cinnamon rolls she used to make each Friday for Sabbath breakfast.
Social Recreation
Each July 4th would find Susie and her family traveling to south Texas for the Seguin parade and celebration. This was a large Poenitz family reunion every year. Following the parade all the family would convene at the Max Starcke Park along the Guadeloupe River for a picnic which many times carried over into the evening fireworks celebration.
About once a month on Sabbath afternoons, the family would pile into the car for a quick trip to Sanger to visit the Belz clan. That’s when those delicious meals would appear at Grandma Belz’ table and 42 dominoes games would break out after sundown Saturday night.
Mom loved to get together with her immediate family also for Saturday night dominoes. Forty-two was a by-word in the Poenitz household. Even to the last week, many nights you could find her playing a quick game of straight dominoes with Brenda & Jose or Jonathan. If Nowald joined in it would usually be 42 rather than straight they’d play. Susie didn’t like to lose, so when Steve and Erney played dominoes with her, many times they would trade dominoes and give her counter ones to play and score with. While playing with Jonathan one night she said, “Jonathan I always let you win when you were little, but I’m not going to do that now.”
During their later retirement years Susie & Nowald have enjoyed the friendship of Bill & Vivian, Jean & Archie, Loren and Emily having shared many ‘once a week Domino evenings’ of food and fellowship together, prior to the passing of their spouses of these friends.
Social Highlights of their many years of marriage were the 50th and 60th wedding anniversary parties thrown for them by their children. At their 60th Wedding anniversary, Brian and Ally, who had just gotten married the year before, asked them what was the secret of such a long successful marriage? Susie said, “Always speak your mind and never go to bed angry” and Nowald said, “Be quiet, and take it.”
Personal Devotions
As her health failed Susie enjoyed watching various religions programs, particularly the “Gathering Place” on the religious TV channel LLBN, Loma Linda Broadcasting Network.
The Poenitz family cherishes warm memories of morning and evening worship together reading the Bible and devotional books, and anticipates seeing Susie again when Jesus comes the 2nd time. In the interim she sleeps in the grave until the Second Coming in Keene Memorial Park.