Sue Matherly Hampton had a contagious laugh, a good heart, could cook up a tasty meal, and loved to go. That is how friends described the woman, who spent most of her life either in the kitchen or at church.

Sue Hampton was a long-time employee of Pizza Inn until her retirement. She and her sister, Ethel Matherly, had each worked over 30 years in the kitchen at Pizza Inn. Ethel, the older sister, died in 2012 at the age of 77. Sue died Feb. 11 at the age of 80. The two sisters before they went to work at Pizza Inn were employed at Sam’s Drive-In in Valley Forge.

“Sue always worked in the food business, and she was a good cook,” said her sister, Jean. Among her specialties were mouth-watering homemade rolls, apple dumplings, and potato salad. “Cooking always came natural to her. It was something she enjoyed doing, not only for her family, but for her church family and friends,” Jean shared.

Sue was a life-long resident of the Sims Hill community, having lived there until five years ago when she had to go to the nursing home. She had also attended the Sims Hill Christian Church all of her life and was very faithful to it.

“What I remember about Sue was that she was always at church, and if something needed to be done, she was there to do it,” said Gerald Holly, who attended church with Sue and her family before going into the ministry. “If a meal needed to be cooked, she helped with it. If there was cleaning to be done at the church, she was there to help. If weeds needed to be pulled or the yard cleaned, Sue was there to help,” said Holly.

“Sue had a great outlook on life and a wonderful smile. She loved her family and her church family. I remember her family raised vegetables and shared them with the entire community. Her shoes will certainly be hard to fill,” shared Holly.

In addition to her job and caring for her husband and daughter, Sue helped care for her mother before she died as well as her husband, Glenn, who preceded her in death. She and Glenn had been married for 44 years at the time of his death.

In addition to cooking and caring for her family, Sue enjoyed gardening and tending her flowers, and she loved to go. “She especially enjoyed going on bus trips. She was a fun person,” said Jean.

She was the sixth of seven children of Dan and Lydia Mae Glover Matherly, well-known in the Sims Hill community.

“She was always a hard worker and loved her church. She was baptized by Preacher Johnny Hall when a young girl at the Valley Forge Christian Church. We did not have a baptistry at the time,” said Jean.

Sue was the mother of a daughter, Melissa Carr, and had a grandson, Dylan. “Missy, Tim (her son-in-law), and Dylan were her life. She was proud of them and what they done with their life,” said Jean.

It was true of Sue Hampton that the most indispensable ingredient of all good home cooking was love for those she was cooking for. Her kitchen was, for sure, seasoned with loved.