Susan Mary Sutton

She was born on July 12, 1957 to Mary Patricia (Driscoll) Sutton, an elementary school teacher, and Charles Quinn Sutton, a sales manager, in Norwalk, Connecticut. Susan moved to El Paso, Texas, with her mother in the early 1970s. She was the salutatorian of the class of 1975 at Coronado High School in El Paso.

Susan earned a Bachelor’s degree in German Studies from Boston University in 1979 and a Master’s degree in German Literature from Tufts University in 1983. In 1985, she married David McAuley and they began the remarkable adventure that would last nearly 40 years and take them to work assignments in seven countries. Susan loved learning languages and spent over 40 months total in various language training programs at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center in Arlington, Virginia.

Susan Sutton served 35 years in the U.S Foreign Service, starting in 1985, including postings in London, Bucharest, Chisinau, Vientiane, Bangkok, Sofia, and Hanoi, as well as Washington, D.C., ending her career on the faculty of the National War College in Washington.

She was one of the few diplomats who could boast of opening two new U.S. Embassies during her career. One was in Tirana, Albania, in 1991, the other in Chisinau, Moldova, in 1992.

In Washington, Susan was the Director of the Office of Maritime Southeast Asia, with responsibility for the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and Timor-Leste, from 2012 to 2014. Previously, she served in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and as the Country Officer for Bulgaria and Albania.

In 2021 Susan and David retired to Austin to enjoy the city's vibrant music scene and remarkable array of food trucks. Susan was an active member of St. David’s Episcopal Church, KMFA, KUT and KUTX, the Harry Ransom Center, and the Austin Film Society. She and David often frequented performances by the Texas Early Music Project, Panoramic Voices, and Mazel Tov Kocktail Hour, as well as travelling out of town to the Kerrville Folk Festival and Old Settlers Music Festival. Susan became a certified voter registrar in Travis County, Texas, and could often be seen in and around the streets, bars, and festivals of downtown Austin with a clipboard and a stack of information cards, urging people to exercise their rights.

Susan was preceded in death by her brother Kevin Sutton. She is survived by her husband David McAuley of Austin, her brother Thomas Sutton of Southbury, Connecticut, and her sister-in-law Ellen Sutton and nephew Colin Sutton, both of Fairfield, Connecticut.

Funeral Services will be held on Friday, April 11th, 2025 at 11:00 am at St. David’s Episcopal Church, 301 East Eighth Street, Austin, Tx. A celebration of life will be held immediately following in the church’s dining room.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians. HAAM provides access to affordable health care for Austin's low-income working musicians, with a focus on prevention and wellness. Donate to HAAM at their website

https://www.myhaam.org/

or mail a check to HAAM, 3036 South First Street, Austin TX 78704.