Susan was born April 20, 1943 in Park City, Utah, a mining town up in the Wasatch Mountains. She and her Mom lived with her Grandparents because her Dad was in the South Pacific with the Navy during the war. After her Dad returned from the Navy, they got their own house on Park Avenue, which is now an historical marker house in Park City. Along with her younger brother and younger sister, they had a great life with family and friends. When Susan was in the eighth grade, the silver mines shut down and her Father was out of work. With no other jobs available, they had to leave. Susan’s Grandfather was working at a college in Claremont, California, so the whole family left Park City, Utah and moved in with her Grandparents.
The new school in Claremont was very much college prep focused and that was a big change for a small- town girl to fit into. Six months later, her Dad got a job and they moved to Torrance which was a nice place to live. The new school in Torrance had a lot of tough kids that Susan had to deal with. Susan is a very sweet person, but also very strong in her own right and figured out how to hold her own and just get on with it. Susan ended up making lots of friends in Torrance and after graduating from South High School in 1961, she started working as a secretary for Space Technology Laboratories in Redondo Beach.
Susan never would have met Rick if it wasn’t for her friend and Rick’s friend who set them up on a blind date. They dated exclusively, fell in love and got married one year later. They rented a little one- bedroom apartment in Downtown Torrance which was the beginning of their life-long love story for the ages.
After Debbie was born, they rented a second story apartment over a garage in Torrance. Then after Deanne was born, they moved to a wonderful little home in Lomita that had a yard which was filled with lots of pets and great memories. Susan had two little girls but worked part time at a department store at night after Rick got home from his workday. In 1966 Rick and Susan bought their first 2 Bedroom home in Wilmington. Life was good there, but that neighborhood was full of strange adventures. Then in 1972 they moved to a bigger home in a nice neighborhood in Huntington Beach, which is still the family home to this day. Right after moving into the house, Susan’s Dad passed away suddenly, and Susan found a new home for her Mom to live close by.
Susan became the leader for Debbie and Deanne’s Girl Scout troop, which provided many fun adventures and outings with the scouts. Susan then went to work part time at a children’s store which she really enjoyed and made many really good friends there.
She wore many hats there but she was in charge of the sock section so was known in the store as the Sock Lady. Susan enjoyed being a Bible class teacher to the kids in her church, and was also a prolific writer of children’s books. Susan was able to handle all of these things while being a full time Mom and devoted wife.
Sadly, Susan’s Mom started developing dementia and Susan devoted a lot of her time to caring for her Mother. Her mother eventually passed away of Alzheimer’s Disease. Susan started volunteering at the Alzheimer’s Association answering phones to council family members of Alzheimer’s patients.
Susan started learning more about nutrition which was very important to her which brought her to working at Wise Nutrition in Old World. Later on, Susan ran her own Shaklee Consulting business selling vitamins, supplements and wellness items. Susan was also selling eco-friendly items for the home before people really knew about this concept. Susan guided many people to healthier living and was very successful in the Nutrition industry.
In 2014, Susan’s memory was really changing and it took several years and several doctors for her to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Susan knew what she was facing because of her own Mother’s journey. During this time, her sister Cherie was also diagnosed with a rare brain disease and sadly passed away. Then, her Mother-in-Law Marie, who was truly like a mother to her also passed away. Even with Susan’s deep sorrow and many challenges she found new ways to keep her own brain engaged with studying the Bible, going to church, reading constantly, doing artwork, journaling and flower arranging. Things continued to decline for Susan and she missed her social life and doing all of the things she loved doing, however she continued with all of her might to continue to stay close and care for her family and friends.
Susan’s strong faith in God helped her through the difficulty that she faced. Even with the changes in her brain, she still knew and loved her family to the end and was able to hold her husband of 60 years hand in hers.
Susan will be sadly and deeply missed by her husband Richard, her daughters and their husbands and families, her Grandson, her dear Brother and by everyone’s life that she touched.
May Susan now Rest in Peace in Heaven.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.11.0