Sue Gale (Mock) Kooken

Sue was born on a stormy day, April 7, 1942, at Pasadena General Hospital in Pasadena, Texas. She was laid to rest on another stormy day, May 13, 2024, beside her parents in Grandview Cemetery, Pasadena, Texas. She died in Hillsboro, Texas, on May 7, 2024.

Sue was the daughter of Presley Joe Mock, M.D. and Hazel Estelle Barger Mock of La Porte, Texas, and the sister of Presley Joe Mock, Jr., M.D., also of La Porte and later of Walburg, Texas. She was the widow of Wesley W. Kooken and had no children.

Sue received her primary and secondary education through the La Porte Independent School District. She graduated with honors from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, in 1964 with a bachelor’s degree in English. From there, Sue taught English in Big Spring ISD from 1964-1965 and decided to continue her education at East Texas State University in Commerce, Texas, where she earned a Master of Science in Library Science in 1967.

Upon completion of her graduate studies, Sue was proudly employed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as the Librarian during the Apollo Mission. Her thirty-plus-year professional career led her to retiring as Reference Librarian at San Jacinto Community College, where she had a special interest in all Texana publications.

During Sue’s 65 years in La Porte, she and her parents were members of La Porte Community Church, and she always looked forward to time spent with fellow members of the La Porte Ladies Reading Club. After retirement in 2005, she moved to Hillsboro, Texas, to be a companion to her widowed aunt. There she joined Christ Lutheran Church and enjoyed encouraging her fellow members while supporting various church activities and the Lutheran Church Extension Service.

Sue had a deep love and appreciation for her family and friends. She never forgot a birthday, was always excited to see family, and it warmed her heart to share her love of learning, reading, Texas history, and family genealogy with others. Throughout her life, she remained keenly interested in and followed all of NASA’s space missions, discoveries, and celestial events.

Sue is survived by sister-in-law Patricia Yvonne Teinert Mock; nephew Presley M. Mock, M.D.; nephew Joe D. Mock and wife Lisa Kay Klaras Mock; niece Jennifer M. Mock; great nieces Jillian Mock, and Abbey Hahn and husband Mark Hahn; great nieces Cora and Natalie Schaeffer; and great nephews Cory Mock and wife Megan, Christopher Mock and wife Jayla, Kendell Mock, and Colton Mock; and great-great nephews Greyson Mock and Easton Mock and great-great niece Ella James Mock.