Our hearts are filled with gratitude and sorrow as we share the passing of our mother Susan

(Sue) Auger (née Randolph). She passed unafraid and with an open heart on October 7, 2026 at the

age of 82. She spent her last few weeks surrounded by people she loved sharing stories and laughter

together. As a faithful woman of strength and grace, she lived a full life dedicated to her family,

friends, and Christ.

Sue is survived by her brother Jeffery (Teri) Randolph; children Yvette Valicenti and Norm

(Dawn) Auger; her grandchildren Alexandra and Christina Valicenti, Anna (Timothy) Tonkin, Jules

Auger, Doran (Kylie) Auger, and Auguste (Aubrey) Auger; and great grandchildren Elias & Leo Auger,

and Samual & Emma Tonkin.

In her youth, Sue lived an adventurous life that included modeling, becoming a Jitterbug

Champion, raising 3 crazy Seagulls from hatchlings, and being an avid Scuba Diver. She shared

many hilarious and harrowing stories about this time in her life.

Sue was a lifelong learner, explorer and enthusiast. She loved learning more about anything

that caught her interest, frequently becoming well versed in the topic and applying it in some way to

her life. She was an avid reader and scrabble player. At home, we called her the grammar police. Her

travels through her youth and beyond took her all across the country from Georgia to California to

Massachusetts to Alaska and finally to New York.

Her legacy is her contributions to the Newfoundland Dog breed and the Obedience Training

world. When she fell in love with Newfoundlands and got her first one in 1970, she became a member

of the Newfoundland Club of America and a founding member of the Genesee Region Newfoundland

Club (1971). She created Denali Farm Newfoundlands when she decided to become a preservation

breeder in 1972. Sue was a proud ambassador of the breed, always striving to maintain the standard

of the breed with dogs who had good health, a good temperament and fantastic work ethic.

After developing her passion for training, she opened Denali Dog Obedience School in 1975.

She was the first instructor to offer a motivational training method in the area. For over 50 years, Sue

loved using a holistic approach to helping people develop strong relationships with their dogs. She

taught her last lesson one week before she passed away. Her love for rescuing and training spilled

over to other animals such as cats, birds, goats, a pack of feral baby raccoons she found on the side

of the road, and one very mischievous woodchuck.

Sue loved training and rescuing horses as well. She trained them to ride and drive with a

carriage. Eventually she got into Morgan horses. One of her favorite activities was to take her Morgan

stallion for long trail rides with her pack of Newfoundlands around her. She also enjoyed participating

in carriage shows and doing weddings with the horse and carriage.

As a part of her desire to continue to help others learn and train, Sue decided many years ago

to donate her body to science. She chose the Forensic Anthropology Program at the University of

Tennessee in Knoxville.

A Celebration of Sue’s Life Service will be held at 3:00 on February 18, 2027 at Cavalry

Chapel of the Finger Lakes located at 1777 Rochester Road in Farmington, NY.

If you have any pictures you would like to share or any memories you would like to write a

story about (we know there are many crazy ones out there) please send them to

yvalicenti@gmail.com. We hope to write our own stories as well and plan to compile them to share at

her service.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to support one or both of the following:

Newfoundland Club of America Charitable Trust

Providing a national rescue network, funding health research, and providing educational

scholarships to young breed fanciers who will be the guardians of our gentle giants.

www.ncacharities.org

Light Hill (Canandaigua Comfort Care Home)

5160 Parrish St. Ext.

Canandaigua, NY 14424

Sue spent her last couple of days in their loving care at their beautiful home.

www.lighthillhome.org

Thank you for honoring her special life with us!