Susanna Gwendolyn (Jahnke) Draper passed away peacefully on July 3, 2023, at her home in Seattle.
Sue was the only child of John and Gwendolyn Jahnke, born and raised in Centralia, Washington. Her mother had been a French teacher, living in a boarding house, when she was introduced to John Jahnke, an attorney in town. The couple soon married and welcomed Sue into the world on June 28, 1930. Sue enjoyed an idyllic, small-town childhood, growing up next door to her lifelong best friend, Rivella Barlow.
As a child, Sue demonstrated an affinity for singing (eventually joining several high school singing groups) and was a voracious reader. After high school, Sue earned a bachelor’s degree in history in 1952 from the University of Washington, where she was a proud member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Then in 1954, she married Frank Draper, an attorney fresh from the University of Washington Law School, and raised three children with him in Bellevue.
Home-cooked meals were Sue’s love language. Spaghetti sauce, apple crisp, blackberry cobbler — every family member had a favorite! A few times each summer, she’d announce that it was Strawberry Shortcake Day, and that’s what the kids would have for dinner — a huge serving of fresh strawberries, homemade whipped cream and shortcakes still warm from the oven.
Next to her family, the great joy of her life was her bookstore, Madison Park Books in Seattle. The store became a fixture in the community, as Sue knew all her customers and their children by name — as well as reading preferences. Sue treasured her employees, many of whom became dear friends. Even years after she closed the store, Sue still had dreams about working behind the counter, waiting on customers and unpacking new arrivals.
Sue was never without a book to read, everything from philosophy to theoretical physics. If a book didn’t grab her after the first few chapters, she’d put it aside and move on to the next book. “Life’s too short!” she’d say. She spent the last 10 years of her life residing at the Mirabella retirement community near Lake Union and joined several book clubs there.
Always beautifully put together, Sue loved clothes. She enjoyed looking through magazines and catalogs, planning outfits for future events. She never could understand how her grandchildren enjoyed wearing sweatpants and baggy jeans! Even during the pandemic, she got fully dressed each day, with shoes, hair, and makeup done just the way she liked.
A lifelong Episcopalian, Sue was a chalice bearer and lay reader at St. Margaret’s in Bellevue and the parish’s first female junior warden. She also sang in the choir. In 2008, she joined Epiphany parish in Seattle and there she found a warm and loving church family that sustained her in her final years.
Sue is survived by her three children (Laura Halliday, John Draper, and Mary Beth McKenna), eight grandchildren (Taylor Halliday, Katherine Halliday, Brooks Halliday, Carolyn Draper, Matthew Draper, Allison Draper, Lily McKenna, and Isla McKenna), and two great-grandchildren (Mason Halliday and Eva Halliday). She was preceded in death by her husband, Frank Draper.
flIn lieu of flowers or other remembrances, the family asks that you head to your local independent bookstore and buy yourself a good book!
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Co-op Funeral Home, Seattle.
