for the American Red Cross in St. Paul, Minn. as Assistant Director of Safety Programs. She married Michael Riley on Jan. 2, 1971. They had three children, Megan in 1973, Timothy in 1976 and Patrick in 1979. The couple moved to the West St. Paul/Eagan, Minn. area. In 1988, they moved to New Richmond and Susan worked at Northwood Technical College. The family moved to Ashburn, Va. in 1993 where Susan was later employed by Appalachian Educational Laboratories in Arlington, Va. as program director, and working at Right Management Consulting, doing outplacement counseling. She completed her master’s degree in education at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. in 1998 and was offered a position with Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in Alexandria, Va. as a program director. In 2004 the family moved to St. Cloud, Minn. and Susan was offered a position as curriculum coordinator at Wacosa, an organization providing life enrichment to people with disabilities.

In 2010, Susan and Michael moved to Fairmont, Minn. Susan became active in her volunteer work, including Kinship, a mentoring service for youth, Top 20 Training, and was also active in the arts, serving on the Red Rock Center Board of Directors, and served as PEO president, all while remodeling their dream home on Hall Lake in Fairmont. In 2012, Susan was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease at the Mayo Clinic. In 2016, Michael retired from Profinium, Inc., They moved to Davenport, Fla. to be near their son Patrick and his

family during the winter months, and during summers they lived in Crestone, Colo. to be near their daughter Megan, and their son Timothy and his family. In late 2017, the couple moved to an Assisted Living Facility in Champions Gate, Fla. In 2022, Susan moved into Sonata Serenades Memory Care at Hunter’s Creek, Fla., passing away peacefully on March 14, 2023, with her husband at her side. Her children were around her for the days prior to her passing. Susan lived a life of faith and service to her family, friends, and the organizations that she worked for as a servant leader. She spread God’s love and joy wherever she went with a big smile, kind words and a gentle, generous, helping spirit. She had a very grateful heart to the very end with a very difficult disease. Her last words

were ‘Thank you.’

Susan is survived by her husband, Michael and daughter, Megan both of Champions Gate, Fla.; her son, Tim and daughter-in-law Kira and granddaughters Amara and Winnie of

Boulder, Colo.; her son, Patrick and daughter-in-law, Diana and grandchildren, Michael, Isabella and Sofia, all of Davenport, Fla., her sister, Sally of Morrisville, N.C.; her brother, John and sister-in-law, Denise of New Richmond, Wis.; and her sister, Jeanne of Amery, Wis.

A virtual Zoom celebration of Susan’s life of love, joy and service will be held 2 p.m. EDT on April 15, 2023. The link to access the service is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8198797336.

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