“I’m not sure how we got from making videos to writing a song about my cat, but we thought it was hilarious.”

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I’m forever grateful to have known Sue for the time I was given. I wish there were still time to make more memories, but I’ll always cherish the ones I have with her.

I remember one particular day in 6th grade, when Susie came over my house for the first time. We thought it would be a great idea to make commercials and record them with my old school video camera. I had this huge bouncy ball and we were trying to advertise it by singing and bouncing on it… which resulted in us just falling off and making fools out of ourselves. That was our friendship, though. I’m not sure how we got from making videos to writing a song about my cat, but we thought it was hilarious. I still have the paper with most of the lyrics on it:

Jessie is really cool / Jessie goes in the pool
Jessie is sitting on the bed / Jessie likes to eat some bread
Jessie is bouncing on the ball / Jessie is going to take a great fall.

I’m always missing that smiling face of hers, and hoping I’ll hear her yell “SHMEMMA!” from afar, followed by a big Susie hug. She’d always make my days brighter no matter what. I just hope to make her proud while I’m still here, and try my hardest to “Live Like Susie” every day. She would always tell me, “You only live once, don’t doubt anything, just do it.” I’ll try my best.

-Emma Ward

“You can sit here as long as you want.”

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I’ve always known Susie. I wasn’t good friends with her for most of my school life, but that was because we just never saw each other.

Senior year, we had classes and a lot of things in common and we became friends instantly. I was always so shy, and she was so outgoing and willing to be friends that I came out of my shell. Although I was close with her at the end of our senior year, it was like we were close for a long time. I will always remember the things we would talk about and do in high school, like roaming the halls and trying to find the “good-looking substitute teacher”, and put on red lipstick in study hall because we thought we were awesome (we were).

But one memory will always stay with me. It was senior year, and all my friends were mad at me and left me at the lunch table by myself and went to the library. So I sat in the cafe and just ate by myself. I was upset, but didn’t really let it show. Susie came over to me and invited me to sit with her at her table, and told me “They aren’t nice friends, are they? You can sit here as long as you want.”

Someone who I just recently started talking to invited me over to their table to sit with them, while all of my best friends for years left me alone. I, as most, wouldn’t reach out to someone and invite them to sit with me… especially in high school. But Susie wasn’t like the rest of us. She was an amazing ray of sunshine.

I’m still friends with some of those people, but I knew someone was looking out for me and genuinely cared. I still live within my old ways, but ever since that day I always thought about how amazing it would be to be like her. If everyone was like Susie, the world would be an amazing, care-free place. I just wish we could all follow in her footsteps. I know that I’ll try. Everytime I eat lunch by myself, I can always hear her sweet voice inviting me over to her table… and even when, in reality, I am alone… I know she’s sitting their with me in spirit. LIVE LIKE SUSIE.

-Chelsea Salzan

“Oh really? Well ya know I’m a great person to talk to.”

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When I think of all the great memories I had with Susie, it is hard for me to pick one and call it my favorite. Susie, like I have mentioned many times, was my first true friend from the rivalry town of Rocky Point (which I am now proud to serve, help the people here and also call it my own home).

The first time I met her was at the public library, a girl named Gina from shoreham told me that we would be great friends and that I should get to know her, so I actually starting talking to her on IM by saying “hey, my friend Gina says I should talk to you”. Immediately, her response was, “Oh really? Well ya know I’m a great person to talk to.”

That pretty much set up the friendship that we had. Going in to visit the library, I found a short young girl with her fingerless gloves, tons of bracelets, multi-colored socks and the biggest smile in the world. We talked like we already knew each other for 100 years. I also met Mr. Facini for the first time that day too.

From there we became so close, I always sought advice from Susie when I needed it, whether it would be a text at 3am, which I would get yelled at for staying up so late on a school night by her response the next morning, or me asking if I can come over so we can talk in the porch. Susie always had my back, and I always had hers. Through it all she would be the first one to text me “are you okay? or “do you need to talk?”.

She really was a true sister to me. It’s so hard for me to not be able to text her anymore when I need a good friend to talk to. A day doesn’t go by that I still expect to see a text message from her with the usual “WHATS GOIN’ ON, BRO”.

I miss  her so much just like everyone else, I know she is watching over me, and although I wish it wasn’t so, I’m thankful for it at the same time. Susie is someone that comes along one in a million. She’s someone we should all try to be in life. Stay close my friend, I love you and miss you terribly. <3

-Andrew Miller

“Nothing gold can stay”

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Nature’s first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
~ Robert Frost

 

Since you, Aunt Bern, told me this was Susie’s favorite poem, I cannot stop thinking about it and reading it over… Every night when I pray to Susie, I read it to her. I hope she likes it… I don’t remember any times I was with you Susie. I wish I did… I wish I had a story to share on here. But instead, Susie, I’m sharing your favorite poem which I really hope you enjoy.

I love you Susie. I wish we had gotten to know each other; I know you, me, and Michaela would’ve been the best of friends. I love and miss you Susie. I think about you, your mom, your dad, your brother, and also Angela every single day. I love you <3

-Kaitlyn Sciarrino

“We watched ‘Animal House’ and played Michael Jackson’s dance game for the Wii that night”

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The First Time I met Susie I was sitting in McDonald’s in a group, and she just came up to my table and started talking to me and my friends like she had known us for years. We had a few mutual friends, and we hung out a few times throughout high school. I hadn’t seen her for over a year when one day, over the Summer, I was out kayaking with my friend, and she was fishing off of Satterly Landing with her mom. It was just as if she had hung out with me the day before. We stayed and went fishing with her for a while until she invited us back to her house to swim in her pool and have dinner.

We watched “Animal House” and played Michael Jackson’s dance game for the Wii that night — both things that are 100 times more fun with Susie’s attitude and sense of humor. After that one day of running into Susie by chance, I was lucky enough to have re-kindled our friendship, and got to know her and the Facini family for the rest of the Summer. I’m so glad I got to have a Summer and Fall worth of Susie stories that will last me a lifetime.

-Brian Campbell

“Don’t get mad, get wiggly!”

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During my junior year, my friend Andrew dated one of Suise’s friends, so I hung out at Susie’s house with them often. Soon after, I started dating a girl named Stephanie and at one point, she went away for a month to camp. While she was away I missed her more than words could describe, but while at Susie’s house I was not allowed to be upset.

No, the minute Susie saw that I began to miss Stephanie, she would say in the most high pitched voice, “don’t get mad, get wiggly!” and grab my arms and flail them about and dance.

Although this may seem like a small thing, ever since that day Susie has taught me how not to let things upset me, and when I start to feel down or upset, to “get wiggly.” Sometimes when I look back at that memory, I can still hear her voice say it in that upbeat and bubbly way, and I just want to thank Susie for teaching not just me, because I’m almost positive she has had this effect on everyone, that when we feel down or out, to not get sad but “get wiggly.”

-Steven Idtensohn

“I know that she is up there looking down on us and is with all of us, and she always will be.”

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Susie was such a sweet girl – full of life, full of happiness and laughter. All I can remember are the days when we had Singing Santas and she would always be smiling and having fun. She kept everyone alive and motivated. I didn’t know her as well as most, but well enough to know that it will be hard for all including myself to move on so quickly.

I am still in shock and disbelief that something like that happened to such a happy and healthy young girl. It makes you constantly ask why. Still, I know that she is up there looking down on us and is with all of us, and she always will be. We will all see her again someday. I guess that’s how we have to look at it. Very sad indeed, but we must all be strong for each other.  Rest easy Susie, you are loved by all and will be missed. See you again someday.

-Thomas Baldwin, Jr.

“I think we bought 5 of them, planning on having some crazy, fat, party-for-2 later that night.”

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The first time I met Susie I was floored by her willingness to take me in as family.

The first night I slept at the Facini household, I found Susie carting extra towels and blankets into my room. She offered to let me use her hair straightener, her hairbrush, you name it… a real “you-need-it-we-got-it” attitude. I couldn’t rave about her enough to my parents: Andy’s sister is such a sweetheart; I couldn’t believe how sweet she was, fixing up my room as if we were best friends having a sleepover.

That weekend, I became Susie’s first passenger with her newly acquired driver’s license. We drove to Waldbaum’s, where she knew exactly 100 percent of the staff, and bought Choco-Tacos – which I’d never had before. I think we bought 5 of them, planning on having some crazy, fat, party-for-2 later that night.
Between the first time I met Susie and the last time I saw her at Stony Brook, I could not tell you any differences in that attitude. She and I were fast friends and I attribute all of that to her beautiful spirit.

-Angela Latona

Welcome to Susie Stories

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Here, we will publish some of the many inspiring, uplifting, and undoubtedly hilarious Susie stories from her friends and family. It’s with the hope that we may share even a small glimpse into the amazing person Susie was that we will publish these stories, images, and even videos with all who wish to learn.

To submit your story, please see the Submit your Story page, or contact Andy directly for help.