Sue Goins

Susan (Sue) Kay Goins passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 5th, 2025. Although she had suffered from Alzheimer’s for the past several years, she was smiling and knew she was loved by her friends and family.

Sue was born on October 31, 1939, in Hood River, OR to Richard and Lenore Merritt, both deceased. She is survived by her three children: Michelle Wheatcraft, Thomas Mark Goins, and Theresa Anderson; she was predeceased by her youngest son, Steven Goins. She is also survived by her beloved sister, Patricia Edelbrock; her five grandchildren, Sarah Tulien, Rebecca Cervetto, Christopher Tulien, Margaret Anderson, and Katie Anderson; six great grandchildren; her nieces and nephews, and their children.

Sue was an active and determined person in her life. She organized activities at her high school in Hood River, then went on the be an accomplished leader with the Young Ladies’ Institute at her church. After moving to Arizona she flourished as a credit manager, serving as a member and on the board of directors for the National Association of Credit Managers (NACM), Credit Women, and NACM Education Group of AZ. She obtained a graduate degree in Credit and Financial Management from Stanford, and she was named the National Credit Executive of the Year, Western Region, as well as receiving a lifetime achievement award in 1996.

Outside of work, she was an avid mountain climber, an activity she picked up later in life after experiencing the Sierras in CA. Still, she had time to lead that community as well. She served as a member, board member and president of the Arizona Mountaineering Club in Phoenix. She became an active teacher in rock climbing and establishing a mountaineering program that taught glacier travel, avalanche danger, and ice climbing. She also helped organize the Phoenix Bouldering Contest near Superior, AZ for many years (including after she “retired” and moved to Colorado), first serving as a judge or official and later as a staff member in charge of recruiting volunteers. She continued to love climbing 14ers well into her 70s, including trekking in Nepal, attempting Mt. Kilimanjaro, multiple attempts of Mount Rainier, and successes too many to list here. She acted as a trail steward on Mt. Princeton, where she built her home in CO.

She enjoyed Bible study in her various communities, including at Sedona Winds, her final earthly home, until Alzheimer’s prevented her from being able to participate.

At her request, her ashes will be interred in Pine Grove Cemetery, OR at a later date. Her family requests any memorial gifts be made to Alzheimer’s Research or Maggie’s Hospice.