Ocean City Remembers 'Super Volunteer' Sue Canale

Volunteers are the glue that holds our special events together. During First Night, for example, more than 80 volunteers work at the various entertainment venues to keep things running smoothly.

One of our "Super Volunteers," Susan Canale, a woman who has been invaluable to Ocean City for more than 30 years, passed away on Dec. 23.

A long-time resident of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Sue established a residence here in 1987. Immediately, this amazing lady became active in the community, eventually devoting thousands of hours to organizing and directing some of our most important special events. These included Night In Venice, the Baby Parade, the Easter Parade, the Woofin’ Paws Pet Fashion Show, the Doo Dah Parade and the Trail of Two Cities.

It wasn’t as if Sue had time on her hands. She worked full-time as the owner of Susan Canale Real Estate and Abstract Appraisal in Southampton, Pa. This firm eventually evolved into a partnership, Century 21 Montague-Canale. She was also active in The Realtors Association, her church, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Southampton, a member of the Bryn Athyn Fire Company and of the Order of the Eastern Star.

Sue and her husband, Joe, spent thousands of dollars of their own money to host receptions for our Doo Dah celebrities, including Mickey Rooney, Carol Channing and Soupy Sales. During the past few years, she suffered from a debilitating illness but never slowed down for a moment. She worked to the very end to preserve and improve Ocean City’s major events.

There is no way that we could compensate Sue for the time, effort and imagination that she devoted to the city over the years. She was a major factor in helping us to maintain our reputation as "America’s Greatest Family Resort."

Sue enlisted her family and many of her friends to volunteer in our programs. It doesn’t get any better than that for a city that is competing against resorts with multi-million dollar budgets and large staffs of paid professionals.

Thank you, Sue Canale, for all that you did for Ocean City.

Sue was the beloved wife of Joseph A. Canale Sr., for 42 years, a gentle, hard working man who assisted in her many projects. She was the devoted mother of Joanne Canale Simone, a former Miss Ocean City, of Joseph A. Canale, Jr. who co-chairs Night in Venice and whose wife wife, Daria, works on the Baby Parade and Night In Venice and of the late Shawn Canale.

She was the grandmother of John E. Simone, Jr., Kiera Blessing, Alexandra Canale and Joseph A. Canale lll. She is also survived by her brother, William Shafer.

— By Mark Soifer, Ocean City public relations director