Claire Sue Scafe

Claire “Sue” Scafe passed away on May 7, 2026, from ALS at Davis Hospice in Cheyenne. She is survived by Kathy Brett, her spouse of 45 years, daughter Beth Brett, (daughter-in-law Meghan and grandson Collin) and in-laws Frank and Kris Barnard and nephew Andy.

Sue was born in Great Bend, Kansas, but was forever grateful that she spent the majority of her formative years in Denver, Colorado. She graduated from University of Northern Colorado with a degree in Deaf Education and went on to earn her master’s in Social Work from Denver University.

She began her professional career at Lakewood Junior High as an interpreter for the deaf, but soon realized that Cheyenne offered more for her as a school social worker. During her 29-year tenure in the Laramie County School District she worked at Anderson, Hobbs, Dildine, ARP, and East High School, among others. For much of this time she was accompanied by her Canine Companion Shadow. Shadow followed Sue to school every day (sporting a scarf Shadow picked out) to aid in reaching the hard-to-reach child. To continue Shadow’s legacy, Sue wrote and published a book entitled “The Book of Shadow.”

The greatest joy of Sue’s life was skiing. From the first of October each year to the end of April, she was checking ski conditions (fretting if they were not ideal), planning trips with the Ski Club or friends, or working as a Snowy Range Ski Patrol/ski instructor. Her other passion was horses. Her horse Sunny was her pride and joy. She loved riding him in CFD parades, showing him in competitions at LCCC and county fairs, and trail riding. Sue’s other interests included: being a founding member of CFD Howdy Folks, traveling, music, the Broncos, fishing, rollercoasters, Blackjack, and Oreo Blizzards.

A Celebration of Life (open house style) will be held at Weidersphan’s Gathering Place on June 7 from 2-4 pm. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cheyenne Animal Shelter, Davis Hospice, or The ALS Association.