Mrs. Sudie Lea O’Connor
Augusta, GA – Sudie Lea O’Connor entered into rest June 3, 2018. She was born on May 16, 1937 in Birmingham, Alabama to William and Dorothy McWhite.
Sudie spent her early years in Southern Alabama, graduating from Fairhope High School. Her first professional arts career was in music which continued to be a strong force in her life. Throughout her career, music and visual arts competed for top position. Her first degree was in music. Subsequent degrees followed in painting from Kennesaw State College and a Masters of Fine Arts in surface design from Georgia State University. Sudie was the recipient of numerous grants and awards from juried shows. Her works reside in homes throughout the East Coast and in prestigious museums. Sudie Lea was also actively involved in teaching. First she taught music, then became a ceramics instructor and faculty member of Eastern Shore Academy of Art, Fairhope, Alabama. Other faculty positions followed at Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, Augusta, Rose Hill Arts Center, Aiken and part time faculty member of Augusta College. Sudie was involved in her community teaching young girls while on the board of directors at Girls, Inc, Augusta. Her strong love of the sea and obsession of light on waves is evident in so much of her art: wood block prints, hand-made paper and intricate and unusual pieces of all sizes and perspectives. According to Sudie Lea, however, her two finest achievements were her sons.
Sudie is survived by her devoted husband of 58 years, Randolph Preston O’Connor, DMD, her son Randolph Patrick O’Connor, DMD and his wife Eileen, son Samuel Preston O’Connor and his wife Kateri, three granddaughters: Erin Leigh O’Connor Budolfson, Kaitlyn Shea O’Connor Scheidt and Margaret Eleanor O’Connor, and “adopted” daughter Shirley Knights.
The family expresses their appreciation to the MSA hospice team for their dedication and kindness.
Sudie Lea will be celebrated in a private ceremony at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Augusta, Georgia. Prayers in lieu of flowers, please.
Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Rd., Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at
www.thomaspoteet.com