Susan Courtney
December 08, 2007
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Service Details
Susan Lee Courtney, 59, passed away Saturday, December 8, 2007 at her home. Memorial services will be held at 12 Noon Friday at Hamilton’s Southtown Funeral Home. Burial will take place at Resthaven Cemetery in West Des Moines at 2pm Friday.
Susan was born November 20, 1948 in Des Moines to Virginia and Rodney Courtney Sr. She graduated from Lincoln High School and attended University of Iowa. Susan worked at the MS foundation, Easter Seals and Younkers. She also was a teacher at a preschool center. Susan belonged to Christ the King Catholic Church. She enjoyed gardening, was a very good cook, and enjoyed reading and writing. She liked playing guitar.
Susan is survived by her daughter, Katharine Murphy (Jonathan); her granddaughter, Trinity; her brother, Rodney Courtney Jr.; her sister, Chriss Anne Meline; her 4 nieces and 1 nephew and 3 great nephews.
Please run in Tuesday Des Moines Register with black and white photo.
kcm
10/31/2013
still miss you
Kate Bell
12/05/2009
Its been 2 years now. Feels like only a day and at the same time a lifetime has passed. For all that check these pages... and I know there are some of you, please take a moment to remember the wonderful and unstoppable force that was Susan. I miss you mom.
Beth Allison
12/13/2007
I was so shocked and saddened to hear of Susan's passing. I have spent the past few days recapturing so many memories from our "youth" in Iowa City and beyond and some of the wild and crazy times we had. When I first met her, I was blown away by her crackerjack wit, her gift of humor and her infectious laugh. Susan was a bigger than life personality, someone you could never forget meeting.
I was kind of shy from a small town attending U of Iowa for the first time at summer school 1969 and Susan was a city girl from Des Moines planning to come back to Iowa City in the fall for our junior year. Sue Ann, Teresa and I were rooming together and Susan drove green "Charlene Chevy" up for the weekend when I met my new fall roommate for the first time. She overwhelmed me with a big bear hug and it was the start of a long friendship.
I remember her passion for cooking. She spent one entire Saturday from early morning cooking her special spaghetti sauce and meatballs to feed everyone after the Iowa football game.It was one of many times she would cook for everyone.
I remember Halloween of 70'or 71' when she posed in her beloved black velvet dress and cape with her long flowing black hair and a long French cigarette holder. I have a picture somewhere.
I remember her Earth Mother period a few years later in Colorado and have a picture of her in her favorite long denim skirt and red sweater and big grin.
I remember Susan loved to write poetry and stories and was quite good as she let me read some of her pieces.
Since I have been on the west coast for over 26 years we had not seen each other often. We hadn't spoken in sometime and I am pleased to know that she was doing much better recently and delighting in her granddaughter.
She was taken much too soon. She left an indelible mark on all who knew her and I'll hold on to all the great memories of the good times with her.
With love,
Beth Allison
Sue "Roland" Pyper
12/12/2007
My thoughts are with you, as well as my spirit. I have been replaying in my mind all the GREAT times that Susan Lee and I have experienced together since Kurtz Junior High, through High School at Lincoln, as my roommate for years in Iowa City, and our adventures in the mountains of Colorado. We were full of antics and attitude based on our mutual respect for humor, fun and laughter. We stuck together through good times and rough times. We were always there for each other.
I am smiling as I remember the good times-reading Seventeen magazines together, hanging out at the Kenyon house where I was always welcome and well fed enjoying the company of your Mom and Dad. Your Mom called me "Sue Ann" whereas your Dad always called me "Roland". "Hey, Roland whadda you doing-get in here and talk to me." Rodney, SR.-what a kick!
In junior high we sang together in the sextet. She sang alto, I soprano. For many years later we would break into the song "Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen" out of the blue-singing in the mountains and everywhere else. Laughing, laughing, laughing.
In high school one year Susan was the president of the Pep Club and I the captain of the cheerleaders. During our pep rallies and skits, Susan and I always had our eyes on each other and even managed to get in trouble once and a while ( oh really?) for making, what we thought, were subtle "gestures" of communication from the stage to the pep section. I will always remember her skit "I am a tree". The stage was dark and when the lights slowly illuminated the stage, there she was alone on the stage. She announced, with her arms up, "I am a tree". It went on from there-it was hilarious. She was a comedian par excellance!
In the dorm room we shared, she was the one who answered the phone in the wee hours of the morning the night my father died. It was the night before our first final exams freshman year (and we were both up cramming-of course). She looked up at me and said, "Sue Ann, it's Chuck and he is crying". I jumped from my bunk. I knew what had happened and she was there to help and support me.
We lived in apartments together with other friends the next few years. I married and took another direction in my life, but we reconnected when my husband Tom and I joined Susan and many of our college friends in Dillon, Colorado.
Tom and I moved away and eventually Susan returned to Des Moines. We kept in close contact for years. We visited each other periodically and spoke often on the phone. I went to see her with my five year old daughter when she was hosting a fund raiser called the "Jello Jump" for Easter Seals. She was an excellent coordinator. We were covered with that messy stuff!!
Our paths began to diverge. Raising children, working, being busy, living so far apart and Susan's health problems. Over the last number of years, I know that her journey has been challenging for herself, her family and her friends.
I would like to remember the good times, her greatness, her intelligence, her laughter, her music and her love for her family and especially her daughter Katie. The last time we spoke, which was about 8 weeks ago, she sounded so good, so improved with her health and her attitude. She told me that she was caring for her grandchild, Trinity, and that this responsibility had added so much purpose to her life. We talked for 2 hours.
I wish I could be there to memoralize my good buddy in person, but unfortunately I am unable to come. I am there-with all of you-and with Susan Lee, "Court". She added so much to my life and to the lives of others. We are all fortunate to have laughed and lived the good days together. I have so many great memories of "growing up" together. (Did we grow up? What's that about, anyway?). On the bus-or off? I guess, both sometimes.
Tom and I wish you all peace and love. You are a good family. Thank you for being there for her with patience and love. I know it hasn't been easy.
I miss Her. I have for a long time-the "Court" so many of us knew when we were closer. I am just happy that she sounded so good the last time we talked. I had some relief and joy. I am with you. She is no longer suffering.
With respect and love,
"Roland" a.k.a. "Sue Ann" Roland Pyper
Kathy Kooyman
12/13/2007
Susan saved bread and other goodies that I fed to my birdies and squirrelies. I
always loved her little care packages, as my little critters did. I could tell
that she was a caring person that enjoyed bringing happiness to others. I
will miss her little care packages.
I sent her one of my hand made christmas cards that she had just received. I
heard that she loved it. I am glad that I could return the happiness to her.
Sandy Harris
12/13/2007
I was Susan's care aide for the last 3 years. During my visits Susan and
I would talk and laugh. My visits brought us close, not just as an aide but also
as friends. I always enjoyed her sense of humor and admired her bravery.
I know how much her family meant to her. Especially her granddaughter Trinity
whom she adored and loved with all of her heart. She enjoyed having Trinity
there and teaching her alphabet and puzzles, etc. They were always doing a project. Her granddaughter, Trinity, was a bright spot in her life.
I know that Susan had to overcome a great deal of pain in the last couple of years. She didn't let that pain stop her and carried on with her life despite it.
Thoughts of her family kept her going.
I will truly miss her and our time together. May she rest in peace and be free of
pain.
Sandy
Dan Pence
12/11/2007
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of Susan. I remember fondly the
many good times we had at the University of Iowa. Susan enjoyed life very much
and her laugh was infectious. While I had not talked to Susan in several
years, I thought of her often. She was a good friend and will be missed.
Sincerely
Dan Pence
Tom Tudor
12/12/2007
I received news of Susan's passing from Mick Billstein. She had a huge heart and enough love for a whole battalion of us. Her warm laugh and willingness to share whatever she could will always be remembered. I've lived in Colorado for 26 years and had not seen Sue since the last 1970's. May the Lord be with you all as you grieve and remember her kindness. Tom Tudor