Susan Mary Hayes

Susan Mary Hayes did not want a funeral conducted on her behalf. She was far too modest to want to have people making a big deal about her. She would much prefer talking about other people than talking about herself. She was, in fact, always very considerate of other people's well-being. One thing she did not realize, though, was how much those other people that she came into contact with thought of her. That is why we’re here today.

Susan was born in Minneapolis, MN. She was Susie to her family, Suz to her friends, and Susan to others in formal situations. She often spoke of how much she disliked the cold, so it probably relieved her when her family settled in Fort Worth, Texas, when she was still a child in her formative years. In 1965, Susan won a radio contest and got tickets to see the legendary Beatles at the Houston Astrodome. She won another radio contest in 1967 and got to travel to Las Angeles and spend a day with The Monkees. At this time, she absolutely fell in love with California. In other words, she got to do some fun and memorable things as a teenager.

Growing up in Texas, she attended the schools near her Fort Worth home, and it became apparent she possessed a natural creative mind. She painted, sculpted, wrote poetry, was a skilled photographer, and had a real knack for following plans and designing things. She mastered sewing and sewing machines, became a proficient tile setter, and cultivated the skills needed to become a licensed contractor. She took acting classes and acted in school plays and local theatrical productions. She was also a fine short story writer and screenwriter. She attended the University of Texas at Austin, graduating with a degree in film.

In the early 1970s, she married her first husband, Robert Sikora, and in 1975 had her son Shane. Things didn’t work out well with her husband as the decade progressed, and they separated, with Robert receiving full custody of their child. In 1980, Susan left Texas for California and the Hollywood entertainment industry. She took some writing classes at Sherwood Oaks Film School, where she met Grant Keiser, who would later become her husband, best friend, and the love of her life.

The 1980s were a whirlwind of activity. Susan and Grant were a comedy writing team that secured an agent that got them meetings with producers of two TV shows. The two went everywhere together, including going to concerts, regularly attending plays at the Ahmanson Theatre, and going to L.A. Dodgers and Kings games. Susan even got them interested in going to one of her favorite things, and that was going to dog shows. When the Olympic Games were held in Los Angeles in 1984, they attended several events that became some of the greatest moments of their lives.

In the early 1980s, Susan divorced her first husband, and in 1985, she and Grant were married. They got their first house together and started their journey in life. In the late 1980s, they became real estate appraisers together. In the early 1990s, Susan got an entertainment industry job when she became an intern at a local cable TV company and got to be a camera person and a videotape editor for various cable shows. Along the way, the two bought real estate and fixed-up houses to rent out and ultimately sell.

In the later part of the 1990's, money was a lot more scarce than earlier and the two needed to find something to earn more money. There was a thing just getting started called The Internet, and Susan looked for potential ways that the new medium would enable people to profit from it. She decided that Internet domain names had a real future as a likely growth area. She and Grant agreed to buy many of these names as an investment in the future. Because she recognized this opportunity early, it really paid off. Susan's ideas from this time would later be called brilliant, and the two created a successful business portfolio that earned them a healthy living.

Susan always wanted to live in her version of a dream house, and the Internet business’s successes and the real estate investments they made enabled her and Grant to buy and live in their dream house in the hills of Tarzana. There, Susan could have that nice place she had always dreamed of as a child that would allow her to run her own business from her own home, and it would allow her to spend time with her beloved whippets, the dog breed she grew to love ever since 1984.

Things sailed along well for Susan and Grant through the 2000s as they enjoyed their lives together and did all the things they could think of that would make them happy. Concerts, home-cooked meals, and travel to far-off places that could easily be called bucket list destinations. Susan and Grant visited Melbourne, Australia, the Gold Coast, and Sydney for two weeks in 2008, and a year later, Susan went with her brother Paul to South Africa, which included a safari stay at Kruger National Park and the chance to see the famous wild animals of the African continent.

In 2010, something happened that would impact the rest of Susan's life dramatically. She was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to undergo chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation to save her life. The doctor then said she was lucky to survive such an aggressive version of cancer. At the time, Susan told Grant she hoped she could last another ten years. The next batch of years were a combination of countless doctor visits, treatments, tests, clinical studies, and x-rays as life became a struggle against an aggressive cancer that was always trying to come back. She went through it all courageously while maintaining life was a battle.

The recent pandemic forced them to stay home and be together all the time as the world was unsafe for an immune-compromised person to go out in public. The time together made them realize how close of friends they had become. Life was a battle, but they plowed through the tough times together.

In 2022, some tests showed the cancer was trying to come back ruthlessly. Susan battled through some potent chemotherapy, but this time, her body became weaker and weaker from the process. Susan started thinking she had to get out somehow and do some things while she still had enough health to do them. She made it a point for them to see a concert of former Beatle Paul McCartney as a kind of bookend to her childhood Beatles concert. In June of this year, Susan mustered up enough health and courage to have her and Grant take a road trip from L.A. through Arizona and New Mexico to Fort Worth, Texas. There, she showed him the places of her youth, and this visit to her hometown was a fabulous time together. The two held hands walking through town more than when they were that young couple in love. They were adults, but they were acting like childhood sweethearts.

The cancer finally claimed Susan on September 12th of 2023, which means she survived for 13 years. Susan had always told Grant that her favorite song was "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles. The song was so exciting for her. It made her think of love and how everything ahead of her in life was filled with possibilities. Grant had a moment with Susan in the hospital when she still had a conscious mind. He said, "You know how you always had said "I Want To Hold Your Hand" was your favorite song?" As he clasped her hand, he added. "I hope you realize I was that guy destined to hold your hand. And you were the girl I was destined to hold hands with." She firmly clasped his hand. He kissed her forehead and told her how much he loved her. That night, she lapsed into unconsciousness. I would like to think that Susan ultimately took that love with her.