Sue Ellen Smith of Tallahassee, a lover of the outdoors and long-time professional who worked on behalf of the public good, died Sunday afternoon six years after being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. She was 56.Sue was a founding member of Good Samaritan United Methodist Church in Tallahassee and active in her Southwood community. She was a former board member of Birdsong Nature Center and enjoyed many outdoor adventures, including bicycling, hiking, whitewater rafting, kayaking and backpacking with her husband and friends.She was proud of her work protecting Florida's coastlines and the people and wildlife that live there. She also promoted smart community development and alternative forms of transportation, including bicycling and mass transit.She earned her degree in journalism from the University of Florida in 1989 and was a great supporter of Florida's journalists. Sue worked at the Florida Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center at Florida State University where she won the 2013 Core Values Award from the College of Business. She previously worked at the Sea Turtle Conservancy in Gainesville and at the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information at the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications.While accompanying her husband to Colorado on a journalism fellowship in 1997 she worked for the Go Boulder! city transportation program.Out of college, Sue worked as a reporter for the Bradford Telegraph in Starke, Fla. where she grew up. She met her husband, Bruce Ritchie, while he was a reporter working in the Starke bureau for the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville. The couple was married in 1995 and lived in Gainesville until 2000. Sue is survived by her husband. She was preceded in death by her father, Robert E. Smith and brother-in-law Larry White, both of Starke.She also is survived by her mother, Amanda Wilkinson Smith of Starke and by three sisters, Cindy White of Starke, Margaret (Brian) Johns of Brooker, Fla., and Traci Wilson of Starke.Survivors also include nieces Aimee (Travis) Moore and Brianne (Trenton) Humphrey; nephew Matthew (Katelynn) Wilson; great niece Haydn Sanford; and great nephews Austyn Thornton, Granden Humphrey, Hunter Humphrey and Hudson Wilson. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Sue Ellen Smith's name to Birdsong Nature Center in Thomasville, Ga.; the Alzheimer's Project in Tallahassee; the Sea Turtle Conservancy in Gainesville; or the Starke Branch of Santa Fe College in Gainesville. Burial will be held privately on Sept. 5 near Gainesville. A celebration of life will be held Sept. 8 in Tallahassee from 5-7:30 p.m. at Good Samaritan United Methodist Church, 3720 Capital Circle SE and on Sept. 16 in Brooker, Fla. at the home of Margaret and Brian Johns, 14041 SW County Road 235. Arrangements are under the care of JONES-GALLAGHER FUNERAL HOME, 620 E. Nona St. Starke, FL 32091. (904) 964-6200. www.jonesgallagherfh.com. Funeral Home Jones - Gallagher Funeral Home - Starke 620 E. Nona Street Starke FL - 32091 US (904) 964-6200