Obituary

SAUGERTIES…. Susan Manocha, 56, of Fortune Valley Lane died suddenly Thursday, December 16, 2021 at the Kingston Hospital. Born in Rochester, New York, she was the daughter of Patricia Richards and the late Brian Brooks and the adopted daughter of the late Trilok Manocha.

Sue was a loving mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and foster mom. She is survived by her mother Patricia Richards, her stepfather, Tad Richards, and her maternal grandmother, Ida Valley, all of Saugerties. She leaves her two sons, Patrick and his wife Kristin of Atlanta, GA, and Arick Manocha of Saugerties, as well as stepson Griffin Walker of Keizer, Oregon. She leaves a brother Dustin, his wife Alicia, and their son Evan of Ogunquit, Maine. Her ex-husband, Lee Walker of LaGrange, Georgia, remained a lifelong devoted family member. She also leaves behind a large extended family network, many of whom are in Maine, Massachusetts, and Washington State.

Sue recently became a loving foster mom of two very special boys, ages 6 and 9. She is remembered by hundreds of children whose lives she touched as a childcare provider, many of whom would entrust their own children to Sue. 

Sue leaves her cats Loxy, JR, and Sonny, the parrot Fritz, Rodney and Bandit the guinea pigs, and Sydney, the family dog.

Sue and her son Arick spent 5 years together, side-by-side, cultivating a “framily” within their ventures with Market America, and the love from those met during that time is sincerely felt and appreciated.

In the early 2000s, she went back to school and graduated with honors from Marist College, and continued on to earn her Master’s degree, all while raising a young son and a newborn. Soon after, she began work as a paralegal before starting her own business.

As a daycare provider for more than 20 years, children and caregiving were her life. She used to joke that anywhere she went, the kids made their way to her. Many of the people stepping in now when it matters most are parents of children that were in her care, or those that are now grown.

A close family friend says, “Sue was an amazing woman, spiritual, the woman of all women. Sue drew to herself women who grew from her influence. She gave them strength, purpose and a beautiful spiritual outlook on life.”

She would like to be remembered by the name she gave to her alter ego on social media, “Sue Says Be Happy.” As she always used to say, “allow for the possibility to be pleasantly surprised.”

Friends will be received Tuesday, December 21, 2021 from 6:00-8:00 PM at the Seamon-Wilsey Funeral Home, Inc. Corner Of John & Lafayette Streets in Saugerties.  

Family asks that donations in her memory be made to the Sue Manocha Memorial Foster Fund at: https://gofund.me/14f66128 where proceeds will benefit her two foster children. The link can also be found on family Facebook pages. 

Expressions of condolences may be shared with the family on Sue’s Tribute Wall at SeamonWilseyFuneralHome.com.