Sue Reynolds didn’t let her age affect her sense of style, her friends and family said.
Every week the nonagenarian had a standing hair appointment and she often got a manicure too, said her daughter, Nancy Bjerre, of Mableton.
“Mother loved to look finished and polished,” Mrs. Bjerre said. “I’d tell her how nice she looked and she’d just beam.”
Though Mrs. Reynolds lived in the Lenbrook retirement community in her later years, her fashion sense dates back to her younger years, her daughter said.
“She was an excellent seamstress and made beautiful clothes,” Mrs. Bjerre said. “She made prom dresses that were just gorgeous.”
Kay Clement, a family friend who grew up with Mrs. Bjerre, said she still remembers a couple of special occasion dresses Mrs. Reynolds made for her.
“There were a number of things she did well,” Mrs. Clement said. “Sewing was just one of them.”
Mrs. Reynolds' affinity for pretty things was obvious to those who attended to her every day at Lenbrook.
“She always wanted her makeup and jewelry just right,” said Belinda Jones, one of Mrs. Reynold’s nursing assistants. “She’d pick out what she wanted to wear and we’d pick out the jewelry.”
Dressing and accessorizing Mrs. Reynolds was a joy, said Shamika Gravely, another nursing assistant.
“She always had a smile,” Ms. Gravely said. “And she liked to be told she looked nice.”
Sue Kennedy Reynolds, of Atlanta, died Monday at her Lenbrook residence, from complications associated with dementia, her daughter said. She was 95. A viewing will be held from noon until 2 p.m. Thursday at the Oglethorpe Hill Chapel of H.M. Patterson & Son. A graveside service will follow at 3 p.m. at Arlington Memorial Park. H.M. Patterson & Son, is in charge of arrangements.
Mrs. Reynolds was a secretary for the Hurt & Quinn insurance company, and later for Travelers, which acquired the smaller agency. She also worked a part-time job at Rich’s in fine china, her daughter said.
“She liked to work,” Mrs. Bjerre said. “She enjoyed keeping busy and she did it well.”
After she retired from her secretarial position, when she was 65, she kept her job at Rich’s, so she’d have something to do, her daughter said. She finally gave up that job when she was 70. But sitting down and propping her feet up was not the plan. Mrs. Reynolds then decided to volunteer at Piedmont Hospital once a week. She logged more that 5,000 hours of volunteer work, her daughter said.
“She’d deliver flowers to the patient rooms,” Mrs. Bjerre said. “And she really enjoyed that until she was 87, and that’s when she said it was time for the young people to take over the job.”
Making dresses, working with fine china and delivering flowers were just a few of the ways Mrs. Reynolds kept her surroundings beautiful, her daughter said.
“It was all such a part of her,” Mrs. Bjerre said. “Even with the dementia, that was something that always stayed with her.”
Mrs. Reynolds is also survived by three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
About the Author
