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What Barrita Sue "Susie" Holverson lacks in sight, she makes up for in admiration from those who know her.

Holverson has been blind almost her whole life. That's also about the amount of time she's been attending Anoka United Methodist Church, where she serves as pianist. Parishioners there praise Holverson for her musical talent, sharp memory and wit, pleasant personality and positive attitude in the face of her inability to see.

In her Kokomo home, with her cane leaning against a wall and her piano standing in the living room, Holverson recalled having to be given oxygen after being born premature. Getting too much oxygen is likely what led to her blindness, she said.

"But that was what kept me alive," she added.

She went on to remember how it wasn't uncommon for people to sue hospitals for such sight-robbing treatments, but said her own experience doesn't leave her bitter.

"I thought, well, you know what? There could've been worse things," she said. "I have a relatively good mind."

"I'm no genius," she added with a laugh. "Compared to what could've been, I'm fine."

Holverson said she could see early on in life, but not really well. Before reaching age 3, her vision was reduced to just being able to sense light and dark before that ability went away too, she continued.

"I've just grown up with it, so to me it was no big deal," she said.

Holverson said she attended the Indiana School for the Blind in Indianapolis, where she learned how to read Braille and Braille music and took piano and voice lessons.

She said she went on to work in medical transcription for St. Vincent Hospital in Kokomo for about 20 years.

"I cook, I clean, I do just about the same things that everybody else does," she said. "The only thing I guess I don't do, and everybody should thank God that I don't, I don't drive," she added with a laugh.

Her music lessons started before she went off to school, she said, and she currently plays the piano for services at Anoka United Methodist Church.

"It's my way of serving," she said.

Holverson said her mother, who was an avid pianist too, got her interested in music. She recalled how they used to play together at Anoka United Methodist Church, which she grew up down the street from. Her grandmother helped start the church in 1913, Holverson said.

"It's just always been a part of my life, the church," she said. "There are friends and family there and I don't know how else to put it. It's a special place to be."

With the help of the speech software on her computer, Holverson said she does a lot of emailing for the church's prayer chain. She said she also likes to listen to audio books and relies on Siri, the voiced personal assistant developed by Apple Inc., to use her iPhone.

"Sometimes I'd like to smack her," she admitted with a laugh.

Ruth Mayhill, organist for Anoka United Methodist Church, has known Holverson since she was born. She, like several others at the church, is in awe of Holverson's ability to recall hymns by their numbers across multiple hymnals.

Mayhill said she's also fond of Holverson's ability to play the piano.

"She can sit down and play a song and it just blows us away," she said. "She is amazing."

Holverson's friendly personality is another one of her qualities, Mayhill said.

"She is fun to be around," Mayhill said. "They torment and tease her and she takes it and dishes it right back."

Mayhill said she also admires Holverson's ability to live alone and take care of herself despite not being able to see.

"It's amazing," Mayhill said. "I know they are taught that in the blind school, all the blind people are taught how to take care of themselves, but to witness it, she has been eye-opening for all of us around here."

Joyce Propes, who sings in the church's choir, said one of her favorite stories about Holverson is when she was picked up one summer to perform at the church's vacation Bible school. A song was played in the car and Holverson was asked about playing it at vacation Bible school, Propes continued.

"And Susie would listen to it on the way from Kokomo and be able to play it for the kids when she got here," Propes said. "Just that fast she can pick up and play."

Holverson reacts to the praise with humility.

"I just do what I can and to me I don't do anymore than anybody else, the only difference is that I can't look at what I'm doing," she said.

She said her faith, family and friends are the source of her positive attitude.

"I guess I don't see myself the way other people see me," she said. "I'm just plain me and that's all I really am."

Reach Mitchell Kirk at mitchell.kirk@pharostribune.com or 574-732-5130

Link:
Out of sight: Area woman doesn't let blindness darken her spirit - pharostribune.com

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