Susan Lee Beahan

Susan Lee Beahan (nee Schuett), born November 10, 1949, passed away May 9, 2018 surrounded by her sons, Sean of Columbia and his wife Patty, Brian of Minneapolis and his wife Sarah.

Rarely a day went by without Susan Beahan making something. She was a wizard with a sewing machine and could turn yarn into blankets faster than you could say “crochet.” And while she had plenty of her own clothes, blankets and curtains, she got the most satisfaction out of sharing her handiwork with others. Her eyes sparkled when she talked about the newest set of matching pajamas and doll clothes she was making for her granddaughter, Maura (10). Most recently, she spent many hours crocheting lap blankets for hospice patients—more than 10 in her final few months.

Susan could alternately be described as feisty and stubborn. While she did not suffer fools, her soft heart for animals started when she was growing up in Kansas City, Missouri, with her horse Snowflake and her dogs, Duncan I and Duncan II. She exasperated her parents by repeatedly bringing home stray cats. She was a long-time Girl Scout (her mother, Onalee Schuett, was a Girl Scout Leader), loved to ice skate with her father, Edward J., and she gobbled mystery novels like they were candy.

She was a tough bird, and a daddy’s girl. Susan’s father taught her well, and he would have been proud. She had no problem operating a circular saw with aplomb, and spent many hours in her garden, even when it meant battling her arch nemesis, the groundhog that lived under her porch, to whom her love of animals did NOT extend.

After moving away from Kansas City, Susan settled in Jefferson City, MO, where she lived for 40 years. She worked for Cole County Residential Services as an account clerk for 9 years before her retirement in 2017.

One thing is certain—Susan never wanted anyone to fuss over her, and she didn’t like to be told what to do. She requested that there be no services after her death. Her children, whom she (mostly) affectionately referred to as the DRK’s (dirty rotten kids) have decided to abide by her wishes. Memorial contributions are suggested to Hospice Compassus who cared for her with great compassion and kindness in her final months.