Dr. Susan Ortmeyer Bachman, Dr.

February 29, 1948 - October 26, 2024

The life and times of Susan (Happel) Ortmeyer Bachman complement those of Susan’s husband of more than 55 years, James Vernon Bachman. As a fitting end to their beautifully intertwined lives, they passed

away within 24 hours of each other.

Susan was born to Ellen Richter and Henry Ortmeyer on February 29, 1948 in Memphis, TN. Two years later the family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, during which sister Catherine Jane was born. Four years later, Henry passed away. Several years later the family of three returned to the historical family home of Jefferson City, Missouri. Susan was an energetic, bright intellectual. After high school, Susan gained a scholarship to attend Valparaiso University where she studied English and German. During her time at Valparaiso she met James (Jim) Bachman, an aspiring Pastor with mutual interests in choral singing, religious studies, newspaper editorship, and language studies. Susan frequently told stories of her courtship with Jim as a mix of socialization and serious attention to their studies, a pattern which would continue throughout their lives.(Grandchildren are the keepers of other courtship stories, told with great zeal by grandmother Susan.) Susan and Jim were married at Trinity Lutheran Church in Jefferson City, MO on June 14, 1969. They lived briefly in St. Louis, MO after which Jim was posted in 1971 to Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Lake City, Florida. It was this time in the 1970s when Susan’s boundless energy allowed her to juggle raising three children, baking award-winning bread, taking ballet classes, and practicing the art of co-shepherding a congregation as the Pastor’s wife.

The 1980s was spent almost entirely in Tallahassee, Florida during which Susan’s professional career

blossomed. Susan simultaneously held positions as Executive Administrator to various university departments while teaching at the local community college, and completing her PhD coursework. By the 1990s Susan and Jim moved to Valparaiso, Indiana where Susan completed her PhD in rhetoric, served as Morning Prayer coordinator to the Chapel of the Resurrection, and taught classes both at Valparaiso University and Purdue North Central. One special semester entailed both Jim and Susan taking a sabbatical to teach at the Lutheran seminary in St. Louis, MO. Pastors in the Lutheran church who learned rhetoric from Susan (in particular speech writing and delivery) still talk about how inspirational that class was. In 1999, a remarkable opportunity arose when both Susan and Jim were offered positions at Concordia University Irvine (CUI). Susan became a tenured Professor of English. Among her numerous extracurricular tasks she ran the CUI Honors Program and jointly ran the debate team along with Jim. In the purest example of combining scholarship, faith, evangelism, and love of mentorship, Susan and Jim initiated and co-led the first two years of the CUI Study Abroad program in Cambridge, England. In 2017, Susan retired with Jim to Estes Park, Colorado where, true to form, they became parishioners and leaders for Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church.

But perhaps Susan’s greatest legacy was that of being “Gramsie”, that is, grandmother to eight grandchildren. From cooking sessions to tennis outings to camping vacations to music and theater performances to epic birthday dinners and New Year’s Eve parties, Gramsie was first and foremost devoted to her family. The end of Susan’s life was unfair by human measures, as she was diagnosed with ALS, a motor neuron disease with a 100% mortality rate. But in that apparent injustice, God used Susan to show us, her family and friends, a miraculous example of poise and generosity even in the face of death. Susan held court no matter her physical weaknesses, even up to the last days. Caregivers and family alike knew that Susan would “... Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.” Susan is survived by sons Josh and Nate, daughter Katie and eight grandchildren.