Susan Jean Sanders

Susan Jean Sanders of Lansing, Michigan, passed away on August 4, 2025 at the age of 82. Susan was born June 1, 1943 in Washington, Pennsylvania to Ralph Edwin Sanders and Elizabeth Julia Kosey. Susan, her twin sister Sarah, and her older siblings Marie and Paul lived in their grandmother’s house and in a home “down the hill” surrounded by many cousins, aunts, and uncles in the community of their Hungarian immigrant family, Immaculate Conception Church parishioners, and neighbors in the western PA town.

When she was 5, Susan’s family moved to Michigan to seek the opportunities that the growing automotive industry offered. They first lived in Detroit, then moved their house to Lincoln Park. Susan graduated from Lincoln Park High School in 1961, the first graduating class in the then-brand-new school.

After graduation, she worked at a lunch counter where she met Frank “Mick” Lenzotti. The couple married in the Navy Chapel on February 22, 1963 in Pensacola, Florida. An assignment in Washington, DC meant moving to Arlington, Virginia. Quite a transformation from Lincoln Park! Within a year of marriage, they welcomed a baby girl, Tara Lynn, their only child. After the Navy, the couple moved back to Michigan to be close to family and settled in Taylor, MI. They soon divorced and Susan embraced the role of single motherhood in an era when it was not acceptable, encouraged, or equitable. Like any dedicated parent, she made sure her daughter had the best she could offer even in lean and difficult times.

Susan began her cashier job at Meijer in Taylor, MI, as one of the first people hired for the new store. There she met many wonderful friends, helped initiate a union, and enjoyed the stability of employment. She worked at the Brighton and East Lansing locations, retiring after 31 years.

Susan moved to Lansing, MI to be close to her grandchildren, whom she deeply adored, and to whom she was selflessly dedicated, attending every single game, performance, birthday, holiday, or practice. Susan would be a fixture in their lives, an influence in their development, and an earnest cheerleader for them until her final days.

She dearly loved her all-black cockapoo, Jasper, who survives her. Susan spoiled him with treats, walks, seasonal jackets, and ball playing, so much ball playing. They had “conversations,” which Jasper always initiated and no one else understood. Susan was quite an introvert, but in her retirement years, Jasper connected her to her neighborhood in ways no other association or activity did. She grew to know and love her neighbors in The Village Townhouse Cooperative, making strong and essential friendships in her later years. These friends helped her maintain her independence, became Jasper’s caretakers when she was sick, and brought her connection and meaning in her daily life. This community was essential in her recovering from many surgeries, chemo treatments, and illnesses.

Susan was preceded in death by her parents Ralph and Elizabeth, brother-in-law Lyle Reitzloff, niece Karen Reitzloff, sister Marie Reitzloff, and sister-in-law Barbara Sanders. She is survived by her daughter Tara Lenzotti (William Lindow), granddaughter Hannah Lindow (Jackson Rees), grandson Liam Lindow, brother Paul Sanders, twin sister Sara DesAutel, special nieces Becky Sullivan and Sharon Taylor, and cherished nieces and nephews: Donna Booth, Susan Weaver, Keith Sanders, Lori Brawley, Scott DesAutel, Mike Reitzloff, and Traci Maskill, and close cousins Theresa Leach and Peggy Jones.

If you wish to donate in Susan’s name:

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) https://www.nami.org/

Ingham Country Animal Shelter, Community Outreach https://ac.ingham.org/about/index.php

Lymphoma Research Foundation https://live-lymphoma.pantheonsite.io/

The family may hold a memorial at a later date.