Sue Pekarek

Memorial services for Sue Pekarek, of Morris, will be held on Tuesday, February 4, 2020 at 11:00 a.m. at Faith Lutheran Church in Morris with Reverend Dell Sanderson officiating.  A visitation will be one hour prior to the services at the church.  Burial will be at a later date.

Sue Pekarek was born on January 14, 1968, the daughter of Chy and Eng Uong in Cambodia. Of Chinese descent, the Uong family members are survivors of the Cambodian Khmer Rouge genocide. When Sue was twelve, her family came to America as refugees; their family was sponsored by Vietnam veteran Christian Nelson and his wife. The couple specifically asked to sponsor the largest family available. During the transition the Wong surname was inadvertently changed to Uong. Some of the family members have reverted back to the original Wong name. After a short time in Hillsboro, ND the family settled in Fargo. Sue was, at twelve, put into the third grade because of her lack of English. She thrived in the school system; while also becoming a standout setter for the High School volleyball team. She went on to attend NDSU and graduate with a Respiratory Therapy degree. Sue worked and lived in CA for five years before returning to Fargo where she continued to work.

Sue was a very inquisitive and persistent person. She read nonfiction books and applied them to her life, whether it be health or parenting. There was a time in Sue’s life that she identified as an atheist, but she began to hear stories of good and triumph from different friends about God. In 2004, Sue was baptized into the Christian faith, and used her outgoing and honest personality to share her faith and story of God’s life with others. Grateful to help her in her faith walk was Linda Hinton, who helped Sue in many ways during her life journey. Sue’s kind and sincere nature is one of the many things that made Curt fall in love with her. After Curt was able to hit all of the marks on Sue’s list of ideals, their romance bloomed into one of soulmates. On May 15, 2010, Sue and Curt, were united in marriage in Fargo, ND. Soon after, Sue’s lifelong dream of becoming a mom was realized with the arrival of first Alexis and then Lucas. Sue’s family meant everything to her and she cared and nurtured them with everything she had to offer. She shared this same generosity with her family and friends. Sue enjoyed fishing (especially outfishing Curt), exercising, learning and after getting married she discovered she had inherited the family ability to cook! Sue was an incredibly strong miracle of a woman; her passing will create a void that will be hard to fill.

On Tuesday, January 28, 2020, at the age of 52, Sue lost her battle with pancreatic cancer, with Curt, Alexis and Lucas by her side.

She is survived by her husband, Curt and their two children Alexis and Lucas; siblings; Sue Jade (Chong) Wong of Fargo, ND, Sue Lang Wong of Atlanta, GA, Amy Sue (Thanh) Tran of Fargo, ND,  Tony (Dany) Wong of Michigan and sister in law Lee Kung Uong of Fargo, ND; brothers in law Brian (Donna) Pekarek of Fairview, TX, Scott (Rose) Pekarek of Plymouth, MN, Joe (Kristin) Pekarek of Palos Verdes, CA, Jill (Tigh) Cowan of Highmore, SD, Jason (Joey) Pekarek of Highmore, SD and mother in law Janet Pekarek of Highmore, SD; Uncle Han Kong (Jenny) Ung of San Jose, CA, Kina Wong and numerous nieces and nephews. Sue was preceded in death by her parents, Chy and Eng Uong; an infant/child brother and brother Song Hur Uong; father in law Ronald Pekarek and niece Nicole Pekarek.

Memorials preferred to the family. Pedersen Funeral Home in Morris is in charge of the arrangements.