Susan Marie Cox Valley Stauffer, 79, loving wife, mother, sister, grandmother and friend to many, sadly passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 20, at her home in La Cañada Flintridge.
Born June 11, 1940, to the late Wyman Morrell Cox and Frances (Emerson) Cox, Sue was raised with her sister Constance Jean on a horse ranch in eastern Washington and graduated from Clarkston High School, class of ’57. After graduation, she was crowned Miss Rodeo of America 1958. Sue remained an active supporter of the Miss Rodeo Association and served on the national board. Sue was also a volunteer and docent at the Autry Museum of the American West in Burbank, where her Miss Rodeo wardrobe is in the permanent collection.
In 1959, she attended the University of Oregon and joined the Pi Beta Phi sorority. She married Kent Ronald Valley from Lewiston, Idaho, in 1960 and then transferred to the University of Idaho, graduating with honors in 1962. They had two daughters, Karla Frances Valley Bendel (1965) and Karen Marie Valley (1969) and moved to LCF in 1973. In 1986, Sue married James Henry Stauffer from Downey and enjoyed a full life that included the arts, friends and riding the local trails.
Throughout 40-plus years as a resident of LCF, Sue received various awards for her outstanding work in the community. But she was best known for the Outreach youth program she pioneered in 1978, serving as director though 2000. Located on local high school campuses, Outreach helped hundreds of troubled teens find the support needed to help with social and emotional issues. She also served as a member of the city Parks and Recreation committee from 2000-07.
Following Outreach, Sue became a popular columnist for local newspapers and magazines featuring restaurant reviews and chef interviews from the area. In 2016, she launched columnsfromstauffer.com, where many of her articles are still found.
A “Celebration of Sue’s Life” will be held after the first of the year. Donations may be made in Sue’s memory to the Miss Rodeo of America Scholarship Foundation, missrodeoamerica.com/p/scholarships/151.
