Sue was born to Robert E. and Donna J. Bulger, just in time for lunch. She spent her childhood in the shadow of her older sisters Chris (I follow the rules) and Katie (I break the rules). As the youngest she made it clear that the rules didn’t apply to her. The Bulger family lived in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul, MN. Not quite Lake Wobegon but it could almost be seen from there.
Sue graduated from St. Anthony Park Elementary, and Murray Junior-Senior High School. She sang in the choir and sang the lead in school musicals. She earned her accounting degree at Normandale Community College. Sue worked at her dad’s pharmacy Miller Drug Store through her school years and beyond.
Sue started dating Thomas Paul “Chel” Chelstrom January 1, 1979. They’d known one another casually for a few years through mutual friends and became a couple at a New Year’s Day party. Sue was receiving treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at the time and called Chel her fun meter. Many of their early dates were spent outdoors skiing, hiking and rock climbing. Sue and Chel were married on the vernal equinox, March 20, 1982.
Sue and Chel relocated to Boise, Idaho in 1993. Sue worked in construction accounting at Micron, and cash management at Idacorp. She then opened her own business, Susan Chelstrom LLC, providing bookkeeping, accounting, and cash management services to small businesses. Sue had a knack for identifying, developing, and mentoring talent. She helped many women start and grow their businesses and careers.
Sue and Chel spent a lifetime skiing, climbing, hiking, bicycling, canoeing, traveling, and exploring together. Sue was an accomplished skier. She trained and raced slalom and giant slalom with the Buck Hill, MN women’s group. She loved classic, skate, and backcountry XC skiing. She and Chel enjoyed many adventures helicopter skiing in Canada and Idaho. Sue is a statistic in the journal “Accidents in North American Mountaineering”. She triggered and successfully rode an avalanche while on a guided backcountry ski tour in the Purcell Mountains of British Columbia. Sue was known for laying down perfect, symmetrical ski tracks in powder snow. A friend described her skiing style as “computer generated turns”.
Sue enjoyed boating and fishing at her family’s property in Sioux Narrows, Ontario. She loved extended canoe trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and on the rivers of Minnesota, Idaho, and the west. She was always up for spending time outdoors- for a day, night, week or more. She absolutely adored hiking and snowshoeing with her women friends and their dogs.
In the early 2000’s, Sue joined a workout group at the Boise Racquet and Swim Club. A few years later she convinced Chel to join her. They enjoyed circuit training, core fit, Zumba, line dancing, Tai Chi and more. This group became a real community of friends. The circuit training gang provided tremendous help and comfort to Sue and Chel through injuries and illness and motivated them both to work hard at the gym to stay fit for outdoor adventures.
Sue was dedicated to public service as a board member, volunteer, bookkeeper, trainer, employee, and laborer. She worked with the Idaho Trails Council, Nordic Voice, Southwest Idaho Mountain Bike Association, Boise Foothills Conservation Committee, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation, Ridge to Rivers, Bogus Basin, Land Trust of the Treasure Valley, Conservation Voters for Idaho and more. She helped build trails in the Boise foothills and at Bogus Basin. She helped build and maintain 4 yurts and many miles of trails at the Idaho City Park ‘N Ski areas. Some of her happiest moments were spent first building the trails, then leading kids on snowshoe hikes as a volunteer instructor with the Winter Wildlands Alliance Snowschool program. Snowschool started at Bogus Basin with Sue, a few other volunteers and a couple hundred kids. Now there are dozens of Snowschool programs across the country, serving tens of thousands of kids.
Sue was diagnosed with terminal cholangial carcinoma in June 2022. She put up one heck of a fight and had a good quality of life in her last year. She received outstanding care from St. Alphonsus Cancer Center, her palliative care team, and her principal care provider. The heroes at St. Al’s Interventional Radiology and Sawtooth Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases made her last year possible.
In her last year, Sue and Chel traveled to Sun Valley, Idaho and made two trips to the Oregon Coast. They spent their 41 st wedding anniversary on Nye Beach in Newport, OR. Sue stayed as active as she could be right to the end. On July 1, 2023, Sue went for a nice walk at Eagle Island State Park, holding hands with her adoring husband. She passed peacefully in her sleep the next day. At home, in her own bed as she wished.
Sue didn’t want her passing to be a big deal but her many friends and admirers want a party in her honor. We’ll get together and celebrate Sue this fall.
Memorials to Sue may be made to Winter Wildlands Alliance Snowschool, any of the other non-profits mentioned on this page, or to your favorite conservation-outdoor recreation organization.