Susan Ho Tubbs (Ho Hsiu-San/何秀珊) of Cullman, AL passed away at 4:21 p.m. on February 2, 2021 at UAB hospital, she was 68 years old. Susan was born in Hong Kong to her parents Edward Ho (Ho Kee-Kuang/何基光) and mother Quen Lee (Lee Jun-Ru /李君如) after they had fled China from civil strife. When she was two years old, the family moved again to Taiwan. There Susan spent the years of her youth growing up with her four siblings.
When Susan was 23 years old, she met and dated US Airman Terry Tubbs from Cullman, Alabama who was stationed in Taiwan. After Terry returned home from the Airforce, Susan came to Alabama and the two married on January 30, 1977. Susan gave birth to and raised two sons, Andrew and Peter. In April of 1982, Susan became an American citizen.
Susan worked in local Chinese restaurants, building relationships with friends and connected them with local folks. She was remarkable at fusing the cultures between Asian and Appalachian.
In 1992, Susan started her own business and restaurant- Susy’s Wok.
In the early 2000’s she became the head of St. Bernard’s cafeteria where she planned and prepared meals for the students, monks, and brothers.
Throughout her years, Susan traveled America with her family and sometimes return to Taiwan and Hong Kong to visit her relatives. Susan was a vessel of culture and wisdom. Aside from English, she was fluent in both Cantonese and Mandarin. She was a compassionate caretaker that would stop all personal priorities to help ailing family members or friends in need. She loved all forms of life- plants, animal, and people. She loved feeding and watching the birds, planting trees, and watering her flowers. She was an outstanding gardener, naturalist, and green-thumb, often times cultivating exotic plants. She would care for injured animals, and help stray cats and dogs. Susan loved her family dearly. She was proud to be an American and loved this country. She was a born again Christian and a member of Mt. Joy Baptist church.
Susan is preceded in death by her parents, Quen and Edward Ho, and her nephew Jonathan Kang.
Susan is survived by her husband, Terry Tubbs, her older son, Andrew Tubbs, younger son, Peter Tubbs, her daughter-in-law, Hannah Kren, her mother-in-law, Anna Tubbs, her two sisters, Hsiu-Hsia (何秀霞) and Silvia (Hsiu-Wei/何秀薇), her two brothers, John(Guo-Chang/何國彰) and Bob(Guo-Wei/何國威), along with many cousins, nieces, and nephews on both sides of the earth.
Susan’s cremains will be buried at Mt. Joy cemetery on Saturday, March 13 at 2 p.m. Reverend Steve Rogers will be officiating the graveside service. Flowers can be sent to: 4149 County RD 8, Hanceville, AL 35077.
