LOVINGER, Mary Sue ("Sue")
age 87 of Tucson died April 8, 2016, after a brief illness. Sue was born January 4, 1929, in Flint Michigan, daughter of Hugh Neilson Parker and Helen Mae Parker (Batterson). She graduated from Flint Central High School in 1946 and was class Salutatorian. She received her Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene from the University of Michigan in 1950. On August 23, 1952, she married Richard R. Lovinger and he survives. Also surviving are daughter, Stephanie Lovinger of Tucson; sons, Dr. David Lovinger (Kekku) of Olney Maryland, John Lovinger (Denise) of Hillsdale Michigan; granddaughters, Katie Campbell (Tim) of Indianapolis Indiana, Sarah Lovinger of Boston Massachusetts, Kim Bahti of Minneapolis Minnesota; grandson, Yuri Ba hti (Jill) of Phoenix Arizona; brother, James B. Parker (Ruth) of Michigan, and several nieces, nephews and great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents; son, Matthew Lovinger; sister, Janet Coulter; brother, Hugh Parker, and nephew, James Coulter. Sue and her family moved to Tucson from Michigan in 1963 to find a healthier climate for her lifelong battle with Asthma. She thrived in the desert climate and was an active volunteer in the community as a Girl Scout Troop Leader, Member of the Junior League of Tucson, the Pima County Bar Auxiliary, the Saguaro Girl Scout Council, Deacon at St. Mark's Presbyterian Church, and swim meet official at the Eastside YMCA and Highland Vista where her children participated in competitive swimming. After her children were grown, she became an accomplished artist specializing in Batik and took great pleasure and pride in showing her pieces at art festivals around the southwest, in galleries in Sedona, and donating them for charitable fundraisers. Her Batiks are treasured by her family. Sue was adventurous and loved to travel. In her retirement years she traveled and camped with her husband all over the United States, including a summer long camping trip from Tucson all the way to Prudhoe Bay Alaska. A lifelong reader with a gentle, creative, and inquisitive spirit, Sue loved her family and took great interest in her grandchildren's lives and activities. She will always be remembered as a dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. She was an example of perseverance, acceptance, patience, and kindness. At Sue's direction, her body was donated to the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center so that others may learn and advance medical understanding. A Celebration of Sue's Life will be held on Saturday April 23, 2016, at Hacienda Del Sol, 5501 N. Hacienda Del Sol Road, Tucson from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Fellowship with her family will follow a brief memorial. In lieu of flowers, the family would request donations in Sue's memory to Peppi's House Hospice at Tucson Medical Center through the TMC Foundation. Arrangements by U OF A ANATOMICAL PROGRAM.