Mabel Sue Ogden's Obituary
Mabel Sue Holley Ogden went to join her husband, Jim, and her three sons, Gregg, Brick, and Clark Ogden, on October 25, 2025. Born and raised in Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Vernal and S.B. Holley. Sue graduated from Fort Smith High before attending Arkansas Tech. That proved a little too conventional for her, so she took off to Denver with a friend for some fun and adventure. Eventually, she returned home, completed her education degree at the University of Arkansas, and met Jim Ogden. They married in 1960 and raised their three boys in Fayetteville.
Sue was a successful entrepreneur. When Evelyn Hills, the first shopping center to open in Fayetteville, debuted, Sue and Jim opened Fabric City, a go-to spot for anyone with a creative streak. Never short on ideas, Sue later opened The Body Shoppe, a fitness studio offering dance-based exercise classes. A born dancer, she loved to choreograph routines, and when the Urban Cowboy craze hit, she embraced it completely by teaching country-western and line dancing across Northwest Arkansas. Years later, she and Jim started Athletic World Advertising, another chapter in her long list of ventures. Sue kept a large yellow legal pad filled with ideas, plans, and lists that often provided plenty of “assignments” for everyone else. Her first-grade teacher once wrote on her report card that “Sue is a very good rester,” and it turned out to be a lifelong talent. She proudly carried that skill into adulthood, pairing it with her love of good food, laughter, and the occasional afternoon nap. Her next chapters were just as colorful. She moved to Hilton Head, South Carolina, where she loved hosting the many family and friends who came to visit. Eventually, she made her way to Hawaii to be with family. She lived on Molokai, a small, remote island that suited her independent streak perfectly. There she made close friends, attended Ukulele Fridays, learned the hula, and even taught it well into her eighties. She adored travel, music, and dancing- preferably barefoot- and felt at home in Hawaii, where the sun, sea, and rhythm matched her soul.
In the last few years, Sue moved back to her hometown of Fayetteville to be closer to her sister, grand children, and great-grandchildren, in whom she took great pride and enjoyed immensely. She loved sharing her dance moves, her business ideas, her sharp observations, hilarious commentary, and her knack for playful charm that reminded us all that life is meant to be enjoyed. Our Momma Sue was an anchor, a matriarch, a mother, grandmother, friend, a confidante- but most memorably it was her spunky warmth and nonjudgmental spirit that made everyone around her feel seen, accepted, and loved exactly as they are. Her beauty was undeniable, but it was her sharp wit, deep intelligence, and dry sense of humor that could make even the most serious soul crack a smile. Sue was a redhead with a big laugh, a knack for fun, and a way of making life just a little more interesting. She was one of a kind, funny, fearless, and never boring. She lived with curiosity, humor, and grace. She leaves behind a family that will forever miss her quick comebacks, her one-liners, her news commentary, and her unwavering belief that life was meant to be laughed through. Her legacy is joy. The kind that lingers long after the laughter fades.
She is survived by her sister, Donna Holley Trumbo, her grandchildren Audra Ogden of Fayetteville, Blake Ogden of Bella Vista, Nicholas (Tina) Ogden of Barcelona, Spain, Ilya Ogden of Niagara Falls, New York; her great-grandchildren Avery, Bella, and Gregg and her nephew Sean Trumbo.
A celebration of Sue’s life will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville on Thursday, October 30, at 2:00 p.m., with a reception to follow. Family and friends are invited to share stories in her honor — funny, outrageous, and otherwise — just the way she would have liked. Before she left, Sue reminded everyone not to make a fuss, but we think she’d secretly enjoy it.
Memorials may be made to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.
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