Sue Stubbs Atkinson

Sue Stubbs Atkinson, 84, passed away peacefully on May 22, 2018. Sue was born on May 18, 1934, to Rev. and Mrs. Perry R. Stubbs in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Sue was well-known in Christiansburg and the horse-loving community as the proprietor of The Western Store in Christiansburg. She and her husband Bill were two of the founders of Flying M Rodeo Company in the early 1950s, which built the first permanent rodeo arena in Virginia on Falling Branch Road outside of Christiansburg. The Western Store had its beginning as a tack shop open during the rodeos for 15+ years. Sue began selling tack and saddles at their Western Auto store, and soon The Western Store became a separate store on Main Street in Christiansburg around 1970. She operated the store on Main Street with the iconic life-sized horse above its awning until the she moved the store to its current location on North Franklin Street in the late 1980s. For a time in the early 1980s she also operated a second location in Roanoke at Crossroads Mall, and set up a store at the Virginia State Fair for several years. Sue had a gregarious personality and a welcoming smile for all who met her. She was beloved by scores of horse people from all over the country, and generations of 4-Hers, rodeo athletes, Virginia Tech students, and area residents that patronized her store.
Sue was active with Quarter Horses and horse shows since the early 1950s. She was instrumental in forming the regional Blue Ridge Quarter Horse Association and served as its president for several terms. She managed countless area horse shows, serving as secretary and announcer many times. She was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the Blue Ridge Quarter Horse Association, and was profiled in the American Quarter Horse Association magazine The Quarter Horse Journal as a legendary member in 2015.
Sue was a devout member of Main Street Baptist Church since her father Rev. Stubbs came to Christiansburg as its pastor in 1949.
Sue will be missed by many friends near and far. She is survived by her children: Terry Atkinson Goodson of Christiansburg and William E. Atkinson, Jr. and wife Jana of Roff, OK; grandsons Michael Hudson and wife Laura of Roff, OK, and C. Shawn Hudson and wife Nicole of Moore, OK, and eight great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her dear brother and sister-in-law Dr. Perry R. Stubbs, Jr., and wife Brenda of Pearisburg, sister-in-law Betty Street of Mount Airy, NC, and many cousins; niece Jill Herring of Mooresville, NC, nephews Dr. Paul Stubbs and wife Julie of Pearisburg, and Kenneth Street and wife Nan of Mount Airy, NC, and six grand-nephews and a special grand-niece. She will be especially missed by her friend and store manager Deborah Sarver, who will carry on the legacy of her store.
A memorial to Sue will be placed at the New River Valley Horse Show this weekend May 24-26, 2018, at the New River Valley Fairgrounds in Dublin, Virginia. A trophy will be presented in her memory on Saturday afternoon.
Visitation will be on Sunday, May 27, 2018, from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Horne Funeral Home. Services will be at 2:00 p.m. in the Horne Funeral Chapel with Preacher Mike Bond officiating. Interment will follow in Sunset Cemetery, Christiansburg.