I first met Sue-Je at the Turkon's Channumas party, not long after she began teaching at IC. Our first conversation mostly revolved around our mutual affection for Bloomington, Indiana, and Indiana University, where we had both gone to graduate school--I can't remember if we ever determined whether we overlapped.  Her smile, the twinkle in her eye, her ability to carry on a conversation with someone she barely knew but leave them feeling like they were an old friend--these are characteristics I cherished in Sue-Je as a friend and colleague.  It was clear on many, many occasions how these gifts translated into the teaching and learning environment.

And Sue-Je took those gifts beyond campus.  A dear friend of mine at Longview took a class with her there last summer and in our weekly get togethers never failed to comment on how much he appreciated her spirit as she guided him and the other residents on an intellectual exploration of difference.

The other place I will forever associate with Sue-Je is the Littletree stand at the Farmer's Market.  I always made my way to that stall at the far end in anticipation of getting an uplifting dose of that smile and that twinkle in her eyes, no matter how cold and miserable it was.  I will try to carry that light she brought to the world with me now, and serve her memory by sharing it with others.  I will miss you.

I lived up the street from Sue-Je for a while in Bloomington, IN. Usually, having her as a neighbor was just fun. We'd have Sunday dinner once in a while and hang out for coffee and work at our local coffee place. Our street was peaceful, the houses small. They had what a visiting friend from Europe called in wonderment American Small Town Movie Front Porches.

But, the story I want to share is about a more sad and serious experience. It's one that exemplifies, for me, Sue-Je's beautiful and deeply compassionate spirit. 

One evening when Sue was home, a young person who had just gotten their permit license went joy-driving from the next town over into B-town. While on our street, they hit a motorcyclist coming up the opposite way. One of the neighbors called 911. While waiting for the EMTs to arrive, Sue-Je went out into the road and sat with the victim. She stayed there until the ambulance arrived.  Unfortunately, the motorcycle driver didn't survive the collision. I think Sue mentioned realizing that even before the ambulance came. 

We talked about how that was. She talked about how hard and important it felt to wait, knowing the news wasn't going to be good at the end. I said at the time, as terrible as it was, I was glad that accident victim had someone there to be with them.

Sue was very many things. She was persistent. She was insightful and smart. She was very, very funny. But the first thing I noticed when I met her is the most true and precious thing about her, to me. That was her gentle, attentive, kind wholeness.   

I remember thinking, the day we talked about the awful accident, what it might be like to be lying out in the street on a summer's evening, seriously injured. I would be so afraid. Or, maybe I'd be unaware of what was happening around me. I hate to think of the role of comforter being conferred on anyone. But, Sue could and did choose to be that comfort for the accident victim.  Of course she did.

I thought then, were I a stranger out in the street, alone and scared, there could be no greater blessing than to have Sue-Je choose to be there beside me.

I am listening to the memorial service as I type this. The tributes from colleagues and students are celebrating the Sue-Je I know. They are celebrating that, and so much more. I'm so glad to witness in the smallest way your love and admiration for her. I'm thankful she got to be in community with all of you.

You are all strangers to me, of course. We can't be there together now to honor Sue-Je's life. Even so, you can't be total strangers when I can tell she is loved and known and surrounded by all of you in spirit.

Travel in light and love, Sue-Je. 

I met Sue-Je at the H&S Faculty Forum a few years ago. We set at the same table and ended up having lunch together. We immediately became friends as we connected through our common Korean heritage. I enjoyed seeing Sue-Je at the Ithaca Farmer’s market at the apple cider and donut stand where she volunteered. When I would get several apple donuts, she sometimes gave me an extra one. It was always nice to catch up with her at the farmer’s market. Earlier this year (2020), Sue-Je, as faculty advocate, helped me with a difficult situation on campus. She listened to the challenges I had and offered insightful advice. I last saw Sue-Je on March 7 at the faculty of color writing retreat at the Inn at Taughannock. We had a great conversation over dessert. We caught up with each other and shared news about Korea, which was then suffering greatly from the corona virus. She asked me how I was dealing with the challenges I had earlier in the year and offered her continuous help. Sue-Je was a truly kind, generous, loving, intelligent, and beautiful soul. She always had a welcoming smile, inviting me to pleasant and meaningful conversations. It is hard to imagine the IC campus without her joyful presence. May she be peaceful in heaven. Much love and thanks to her family for sharing her with us.

I had quick conversations with Sue-Ge multiple times during our time on campus together. Once, despite not knowing me very well, she offered to take lunchtime walks with me to support my goals of outdoor mindfulness and movement. We never followed through on that, but I was so appreciative of her generosity of time and overall warmth. More recently, I attended a workshop she led on conflict. Her approach to the workshop left us all with great advice and perspective. I am so grateful to have had these few, brief but impactful, moments with Sue-Ge during her too-short time with us. Sending much love to Sue-Ge and her family. 

Sue-Je and I met 25 yrs ago on a Fulbright fellowship to teach English in South Korea right after college. The fellowship started off with a two-week orientation program in Tacoma, WA. The first week was meant for fellows who didn't know much about Korea, so all the Korean Americans except Sue-Je and me arrived a week later. We bonded over that experience - of not being quite Korean enough - as we grappled with our racial identity in our mothers' home country. Even back then, Sue-Je had a warmth and grace about her - so wise beyond her years, and so kind. We unfortunately lost touch for several years until I moved to Ithaca a few years ago with my husband and newborn baby. I was really struggling at first with having a baby while transitioning into a new home. I still tear up thinking about everything she did for me - helping us move, bringing me food, taking me on hikes to get me out of the house. She loved being a mother, and was so happy that I was a mother too. She gave me a Korean baby blanket that she had been saving in case she ever had another child - it's now one of my most cherished possessions. I don't think she ever fully knew how much she helped me. But of course, she was like that with so many others too. My heart aches for everyone in Sue-Je's life - her friends, students, colleagues, and family, but especially for Sarah - as we deal with this tremendous loss. 

I did not know Sue-Je that well. She and I spent some time working in groups together in the Center for Faculty Excellence. I was immediately drawn to her and her many interesting stories. After our initial meetings, I would run into her on campus and a few times at the Farmer's Market.
Dr. Gage had a very engaging smile and was always quick with a friendly word. The title of this website says it best, she will be "Forever Missed".
Mike Mooney
Ithaca College

Sue-Je was one of my first introductions to a wonderful mix of kindness and intellect. The calm confidence she modeled inspired me tremendously from afar. She gave me more than my fair share of homemade inari at the Ithaca Pan Asian festival and bags full of paper cranes to make into an art installation during my first year.Her grounded energy and generosity will be missed. As her soul travels to another dimension, to another form, may her beautiful legacy live on.

Sue-Je, i so enjoyed you, our chats, in school and out; about school and about life. they are all well stamped in my memory now. thank you for what you shared with us all, i cherish it all, and always will. you always had something just very good to say. in good and bad moments, you rocked it always.
much love to your family, your mother, sister and daughter.

From the moment I stepped into Sue-Je’s classroom I felt comfortable. I’m always pretty quiet my first day in a class with a new professor because I like to feel them out but I wasn’t like that with her. Her smile was just so welcoming and warm and I wanted to get to know her more. I didn’t connect with my faculty advisor and I expressed that to her and she took on that role. 
I came to her unsure of what my research would entail. Expressing my confusion and lack of ideas to her was the best thing I did because I remember sitting in CC and she asked “what do you care about?” And we broke it all down and she guided me to building that up and I will always pay homage to her with my research because without her I wouldn’t have presented at two conference and been as confident as I was. She pushed me beyond what I thought my limits were and I’ll forever thank her for that. I’ll always love her and I’ll definitely miss her

I took my freshman seminar three years ago with Sue-Je. She was a kind soul and she always radiated love and positive energy. She was the first professor who validated me as a student, and made me feel like my thoughts, my voice and my opinions mattered. I learned so much about myself, and the lessons that I learned stayed with me throughout my time at IC. I loved her teaching style so much that I took another class, Cultural Anthropology, with her that next semester. Even when I profusely apologized for being late to the 8am class, she would always tell me to relax, and she never penalized me. 

When I saw her around campus, she would always stop to have a brief conversation, and she would always tell me how proud she was of me. I always had the biggest smile on my face when I spoke to her. Her smile was that contagious. I am forever thankful for her, and the love that she bestowed upon me and the IC community. You are so loved Sue-Je. Rest In Peace.

Sue-Je had one of those faces that exuded warmth. Before I ever knew her or took a class with her, I'd see her around campus and it was clear to me that she had an enormous heart in addition to a brilliant mind. Once I got to know her and took a class with Sue-Je, my suspicions were confirmed. Sue-Je made a beautiful impact on my life at a time of enormous change and I am so happy to have had the time to be in her presence. I took her class, "Global Mixed-Race" and it was huge for me as a young mixed-race person. My understanding of what it means to be mixed-race is forever changed by Sue-Je.

I am heartbroken that I cannot thank her once more. May this amazing woman, mother, daughter, and teacher rest in peace.  

Sue-Je was instrumental in bringing me back home to New York State, and  to teaching at IC. She was always encouraging as I juggled teaching at a variety of institutions while single-parenting and writing my dissertation. 

I will always remember her sound advice, “chin up and nose down...”

News of her passing is so shocking... and I saw her recently and her warmth and beauty were, as usual, radiating...

Sending so much love to her circles of loved ones, and especially to her daughter. 

Sue-Je's office was next door to mine. We were constantly popping in on each other to discuss department business. More importantly, we'd share a story, a laugh or lean on each other. She would also leave notes in my mailbox whenever there was cause to say thanks or just communicate. Her warmth was infectious. She brightened up our workplace remarkably. She also brightened up so many of our events and organized our annual picnic on several occasions. She's left a void in so many of our lives and will be missed dearly. But in many ways she lives on in all of us who were touched by her warm spirit and generous heart. She helped me to see my own life more clearly, to confront my biases head on, and to be a more empathetic human. I miss you, old friend. I miss you dearly.

When I think of Sue-Je, the first word that always comes to mind is kindness. I know I was not the only person fortunate enough to have known her to think of her in this way. As a fellow faculty member in our Anthropology Department, we shared a love of animals. I don't have human children, but I have furball children. Last year, my beloved kitty, Buddy, became extremely ill, and I was heartbroken as I knew I was going to lose him. Sue-Je noticed that I was upset one day, and took me aside and spent considerable time talking with me about what I knew was going to be a difficult time for me. A lot of people would not necessarily understand such grief, nor take the time to indulge in a lengthy conversation in sympathy. But Sue-Je did, and it meant the world to me. It was so much of what Sue-Je was about as a person.

Sue-Je arrived at a somewhat contentious time in the department's history. She refused to hear any information about the department or her new colleagues that would lead her to pre-judge it or them.  This thoughtful approach continued throughout her time in the department. She always tried to see other individual's points of view, and to find positive things about them. This is what led her to get training in dispute resolution. I remember when she was asked to be an advocate for a person in danger of deportation, and how much she prepared for it and was concerned that she would do the best job possible. Despite the deep concern she had for people, she was quick to laugh at herself and to comfort anyone who had a problem. We will miss her terribly.

As we all began to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, Sue-Je took it upon herself to sew unique masks for her family, colleagues, friends, and students. These weren't just any masks. Sue-Je had dismantled and cut up HVAC filters so that the masks would protect against the virus for 3 months! They're fashionable, reversible, and washable! This is the photo that Anna and I texted to Sue-Je when ours arrived in the mail in Los Angeles (of course with a friendly, hand-written note). We will think of her everyday as she continues to protect us through her masks.