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The Final Flight: Dr. Suzanne Umali Bells McManus

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Suzanne Umali Bells.

To Pacific Island people, the island, our island, no matter how far the ocean that separates us, will always be our final place of rest, our forever home. Suzanne Umali Bells, a Pacific Islander, a Micronesian woman, a Palauan mother and grandmother with a PHD, was raised on Guam and traveled many places off island, but always found a way to return home.

I met Sue when she was 18 and dating my brother Mark. In 1981, Mark, Sue and EJ, stayed with me for a short season, in Tamuning, Guam. Life unfolded and we both moved off island but our families reconnected in 2001, when they moved to Talent Oregon, where Sue got her Masters in Special Education at Southern Oregon University. From there they moved to Eugene where Sue pursued her PHD at University of Oregon, and eventually she moved back home and taught at the University of Guam.

A lot of life happened in between all those years. Babies were born, life was lived, hard decisions were made, and this Pacific Island Warrior family also fought a battle that tested their strength love and endurance. Mark and Sue had 7 children and in 2016, they lost their daughter Warang to cancer. Less than four years later, Sue fought her own battle with cancer.

Sue was a fighter. If you knew Sue then you knew life didn’t keep her down. Sue always found a way to make life work, get things done, believe against all odds and keep pushing way beyond her last bit of strength. On August 24th, Sue lost a fight she didn’t think she would lose, no one did. Sue went off island to fight cancer at a California hospital. During a pandemic, and protests and fires, Sue lost that last battle and her children need to bring her home.

Sue’s children and family are devastated, and I am here to remind us all, of our Pacific Island roots. To be a Pacific Islander is to lay aside the decisions and the oceans that separate us and come together and carry a weight that Sues children should not carry alone. Island families always show up when you need them. We may miss many gatherings, but we never miss the ones that count. We show up and we reaffirm our commitment to each other. With every gathering we let it be known that we will be there when you need us. We bring our food, our tears, our songs, our dance and our money to every gathering that matters. We need to bring Sue home.

This is a call to unite with Sue’s children to bring her home and lay her to rest beside her Warang. To cover the cost of air fare and medical costs and escort fees and everything else it takes to bring her body home during a pandemic. We can’t all be there for the funeral on Guam but in spirit, we can know it was our support that placed her body to rest and brought peace to her children. Please join us in celebrating her life and once again let’s reaffirm our commitment and love for Sue, her children and each other. Dangkulu Si Yuus Maase. Ke kmal mesaul. Thank you with much love. Donna Castro McManus Libemday
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    Co-organizers (4)

    Sophie Foley
    Organizer
    Melrose, MA
    EJ McManus
    Beneficiary
    Donna Libemday
    Co-organizer
    Andrea Libemday
    Co-organizer
    Ileana Harnett
    Co-organizer

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