We found three people in the South Valley with one thing in
common: They’re all named Sue. Though they share a name, their
stories, lives and interests differ greatly
So, we have this theory: Everyone has something noteworthy about them. Whether it’s an interesting family, quirky hobbies, a unique achievement or some other distinction, even the most seemingly average person has something fascinating to share.
Adhering to that theory, we thought we’d find out the stories of some South Valley residents. We picked a name at random, looked up three different ladies by that name in the phone book and came up with three very different stories about a gal named Sue.
Sue Oliver of Hollister
Sue Oliver is a stay-at-home mom, and she’d appreciate it if people didn’t roll their eyes when she tells them so.
“People ask me, ‘Wow, what do you do with all your time?’ and really don’t seem to support my decision to do this. But being a stay-at-home mom is hard work,” she said. “Before I stayed home, I was a medical assistant, and I want to go back to that. But right now, because of things going on with (my son) and his kindergarten schedule, I need to be at home.”
Oliver’s 5-year-old son, Chase, has several health problems and is also home-schooled because his medical issues sometimes force him to miss school. In addition to monitoring her son’s health, Oliver does the multitude of other thankless tasks other stay-at-home moms perform.
Life hasn’t always been easy since Chase’s birth. Oliver had a difficult delivery, and Chase had medical problems from day one. After Chase was born, Oliver also experienced postpartum depression.
“I knew the day after he was born that I wasn’t feeling right,” she said. “I was excited, but I was so weepy and just not right. I think Tom Cruise is a big loser after everything he said about postpartum. He’s a man, he will never experience it, and he has no idea just how real the issue is. Postpartum is a very difficult thing, and women who experience it need all the support and help they can get.”
On top of her post-partum, Chase was a colicky baby and would only sleep in 40-minute spurts. Then Oliver received the news her husband, Mark, had kidney failure. She began a search among family and friends to find a donor match who would be willing to give Mark a kidney, eventually finding that his sister was a match.
“Sometimes you get selfish and pissed off that this is happening to you,” Oliver said. “But then you realize this is what you’re dealt and what you have to deal with and make every day count. You learn to focus on all the good things you have and just enjoy each other.”
In spite of everything Oliver juggles and her personal trials, Chase said his mom does a great job.
“She brings me places, like the Dennis the Menace park (in Monterey), and to see the geese and stuff, and she takes me to get lunch sometimes, and to the movie theaters,” he said. “She’s good and she’s always nice. And she reads me books. That’s fun. I also like cuddling with my mom. We cuddle all over.”
Sue Piccardo of San Martin
Sue Piccardo is a lady with a lot of stuff – a lot of stuff. She has more hobbies and collections than any one person should be able to have, and she does them all equally well and with equal fervor. Piccardo’s hobbies include, but are not limited to: gardening, cooking, sewing, playing the violin, antiquing, collecting nutcrackers, collecting Charles Dickens village houses and figurines and – her favorite – collecting old postcards.
“Postcards are so great,” she said, flipping through photo albums full of her collection. “You get pictures of these places that don’t even exist anymore or places that are still around but have changed drastically. It’s inexpensive, and there’s nothing a postcard hasn’t been made for.”
About three postcard shows are held in Concord every year, and Piccardo attends each one. Some of her cards date back to the 19th century, and postcards of “new city hall” in Gilroy, historic downtown Morgan Hill and other South Valley scenes are included in her collection. Reading the backs of the postcards is a fun perk to the hobby, Piccardo said.
“People write really funny things to each other,” she explained. “And some of them are so gossipy. I have one where someone’s talking about an affair someone else was having, which was all very scandalous.”
Every nutcracker in the collection arranged above Piccardo’s television entertainment center has a story behind it. For example, an Italian nutcracker represents her husband’s Italian heritage, and the chef nutcracker represents her love of cooking.
Piccardo’s mother taught her a love of antiques and how to search garage sales. Her collection of antiques is scattered around her home, including an old cast-iron stove, a fire extinguisher, sewing machine, spittoon and canned-goods labels. Her oldest son has inherited this passion for garage-sale hunts, Piccardo said.
“He appreciates ‘cool stuff’ as much as I do, and he bargains like my mom did,” she said. “He and I go garage sale-ing together, and we come home with some great stuff.”
Piccardo’s husband, David, appreciates the hobbies that don’t add to the clutter in their house, such as gardening and cooking, Piccardo said.
“My husband is a minimalist, but I’m a collector,” she said, laughing. “He keeps telling me one of these days I’m going to run out of room, but I say I’ll always be able to find more room. But he’s very sweet and very patient with me, and he still brings stuff home for me because he sees it while he’s out and he knows I’d like it.”
Sue Flanagan of Gilroy
Sue Flanagan was notably adamant that there was nothing very interesting about herself to tell. How wrong she was.
Flanagan has accomplished one thing that most people would consider truly outstanding: She’s living the American dream. Flanagan has a job she is passionate about, a family she loves and she spends her free time doing things she likes best.
Flanagan is a vocational educator for the Regional Occupational Program in Gilroy.
“I love my job because I get to talk to a lot of success stories,” she said. “I talk to kids who used ROP to figure out what they want to do. We encourage kids to try things out, figure out what they like, what they don’t like. I just talked to someone who just opened a restaurant because he once took food-service electives and loved it. It’s a very rewarding job.”
Flanagan has known her husband, Frank Gibson, for 25 years, but she has only been married to him for about three years.
“My husband passed away many years ago and when (Frank’s) wife passed away, I told him I’d be there any time he felt like talking,” she said. “That’s when we started spending more time together, and, well, the rest is history, I guess.”
Flanagan had two daughters from her first marriage and gained a stepdaughter when she married Gibson.
In her spare time, Flanagan is an avid reader who enjoys autobiographies, murder mysteries and courtroom dramas.
“My husband used to own a bookstore in Monterey, so we have about a bajillion books,” she said. “So, I have plenty of reading material to keep me busy.”
Flanagan and her husband enjoy going to see independent films and traveling both regionally and globally. Her favorite spot so far was Costa Rica, where she and her husband spent their honeymoon.
“We travel a lot – almost every weekend,” Flanagan said. “We have two kids in Southern California, one at UC Davis and friends all over the state, so we’re always visiting someone. Then we try and do two or three big trips a year.”
Flanagan has also recently inherited her father’s stamp collection, and she said she hopes to continue his hobby.
Coming soon: the story of three South Valley Mikes.
A Day in the Life of Sue Oliver
Get up.
Get breakfast ready for Chase and make his lunch for school.
Take Chase to school.
Do laundry.
Clean house.
Pay bills.
Look up houses for sale online for possible move.
Maintain correspondence with family and friends, generally via e-mail.
Search online for possible part-time jobs that fit Chase’s school schedule to hopefully supplement income.
Pick Chase up from school for his one hour of home schooling from private teacher.
Follow up with one hour of schooling, including math, reading and spelling, taught by Sue herself.
Take Chase to any doctor appointments he may have.
Watch Chase and keep him occupied.
Cook dinner for the family, served when husband, Mark, gets home – usually around 6:15pm.
Get Chase ready for bed.
Put Chase to bed around 7:30pm.
Spend time with Mark, playing games or watching television.
Get ready for bed.
