Sue Ellen (Schwein) Grinlinton

BLUE SPRINGS, MO - Sue Ellen Schwein Grinlinton, 77, of Blue Springs, peacefully passed away, November 6, 2021, at her home, surrounded by the love of her family. Sue was born December 31, 1943, in Hays, Kansas, to Rex L. and Margaret Reed Schwein. She and her four siblings grew up in a noisy and loving home in Atchison, Kansas, where Sue graduated from Atchison High School in 1961. She married Jim Grinlinton, October 16, 1961. They were the parents of three sons and one daughter. They later divorced.

Following her graduation from Penn Valley School of Nursing in 1981, Sue worked at the Independence Sanitarium (later called Independence Regional Health Center) and Centerpoint Medical Center for 29 years. For much of her nursing career, she worked in ICU. Following her retirement from the hospital in 2010, she worked at The Groves, where she was House Supervisor. She was a wonderful nurse, who was loved and respected by her coworkers.

Sue was a loving mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, aunt, and friend. She was so proud of her children and grandchildren and she loved them to the moon and back. She had a gentle spirit, a giving heart, and a lively sense of humor. She baked birthday cakes for coworkers and crocheted baby blankets for their new babies. She generously opened her home to family and friends whenever they needed a place to live. She loved to laugh and was an ornery, silly, fun person to be with. She enjoyed music, crafting, sewing, crocheting, reading, and playing video games. She also loved nature, especially when she could view it from inside the house. While Sue was gentle and kind, she was also a survivor and a warrior who battled 13 different cancers over the past 26 years.

Sue is survived by three of her children, Jeff, Tom, and Teri; four grandchildren, Joshua, Jonah, Lily, and Aria; three sisters, Karen Killough, Kris Allen, and Jerry Andersen; her brother, Rick Schwein; an uncle, Homer Reed, Jr.; five nephews/nieces; six great-nephews/nieces; and many cousins and friends. We will miss her.

She was predeceased by her son, Dave; her parents, her grandparents, ten aunts and uncles, several cousins, and her dear friend, Carolyn Sherlak. A private service was held at her home. Her ashes will be inurned in the family plot in Ulysses, Kansas, at a later date. Memorials may be given to Heifer International or the American Cancer Society.