Susan D. (Walker) Hesik, 55, beloved wife of Michael Hesik, died April 15 at their home in Oxford, surrounded during the day by family and friends after succumbing to a very brief, yet courageous, battle with cancer. She was born July 16, 1961, in Danbury, to Lise (Borduas) and William Walker.

She resided for many years in Danbury and Sandy Hook, settling with her husband in Oxford in 2003. She attended Danbury schools and worked most of her life in her own housecleaning business.

Finding beauty in the natural world, she was a passionate outdoors person. She loved tending to her gardens, and she spent many vacations camping or lodging in wilderness settings canoeing, kayaking, hiking, biking, and "moosing." She shared many "historical" vacations with her in-laws learning much about their East Coast heritage.

An avid and award-winning photographer, she took beautiful photos - and usually one or two images of each outing included her trademark "rubber chicken" that she took along with her on jaunts. A lover of all animals, she had numerous opportunities in rehabilitating many birds and small mammals during her life; her most favorite being a crow she called "Vel," which became her faithful pet.

A creative entrepreneur, Ms Hesik spent much of her time utilizing her crafting skills and discerning taste to repurpose or recreate items to sell at fairs or on eBay. A big planner and decorator, she was thoughtful of everyone's birthday and the holidays, always hosting gatherings - be it at her own home for summer picnics, Halloween parties, an annual Christmas party, or organizing group trips to wineries, casinos, girls weekends, etc.

Ms Hesik was happy in spirit, devoted to her husband and family. Those who knew her well knew she was a kind, generous, fun-loving soul; always joking, and always accepting of people for who they were. Her friends all knew this, and the wonderful staff at Smilow Cancer Center came to know this as well, sharing many good laughs together.

Besides her husband, her mother Lise of Oxford; her siblings and their spouses Michael of Danbury, Richard and Jacqueline of New Milford, and Janice and Michael Edwards of Oxford; her in-laws Bill and Joan Hesik and brother-in-law Jeff, all of Aiken, S.C.; her nieces and nephews; her two precious fur baby cats; as well as many relatives in Connecticut and Canada survive her. Her dad, William; as well as many of her previous fur babies, especially her cat of 23 years and the recent loss of her dog, predeceased her.

The family would like to thank all those who have shared in Sue's life - her spirit will continue to live on in those who knew her.

There are no calling hours.

Family and friends are invited to a celebration of Ms Hesik's life to be conducted Saturday, May 20, at the VFW, 150 Lee Farm Drive, Southbury. The family may be contacted for details.

Donations in honor of Ms Hesik may be made to the following organizations: Wild Life In Crisis in Weston at wildlifeincrisis.org; The Animal Center in Newtown at theanimalcenter.org/donate; New England Wildlife Center at newildlife.org/donate; PETA at peta.org/donate, and WPKN Radio at wpkn.org.