Susan Buchanan (Castle)

The Buchanan family is heartbroken to announce the passing of our beloved Susan in the Ottawa Hospital on Dec. 2, 2021 She is survived by Gerald W. (Joe) Buchanan to whom she had been married for over 54 years. Also mourning her loss are her son Brad and his wife Kate of Sacramento California and their daughters Nora and Lucy, as well as son James and his partner Karine of Montreal and their sons Leo, Samuel and Vincent. Susan is survived by her brother G.S. Peter Castle of London and his wife Judy,as well as cousin Harry Dunlop and his wife Gillian of Belfast Northern Ireland. Other overseas mourners include cousin Shirley Culbertson of Belfast as well as cousin Kevin Gelfedder and his wife Lesley in Yorkshire, England. Brother in Law Ronald L. Buchanan and his wife Ruth of Fayetteville New York, and many nieces and nephews are among those mourning Susan's passing. Susan was a beautiful woman of immense talents. She was generous, loving, positive, passionate and unselfish.

She was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1945 and came to Canada with her family to settle in London, in 1947. Her early schooling in London was at St. Georges and Oxford Park, followed by High School at Medway and Oakridge. She was an outstanding student and served as Student Council President of Oakridge while in Grade 12. Subsequently Susan went to Western and majored in Mathematics and English, graduating in 1966. Her first real job was as a Computer Programmer at London Life Assurance Company. She was one of the very few women to occupy such a position and remained there until early 1969. The next two years were filled with the excitement of having two children as well as moves to Los Angeles and Windsor, before settling in Ottawa in 1971.

Susan's first loves were family and friends, who were the beneficiaries of her generosity, delightful Irish wit and warm sense of humour. She loved to cook, specializing in desserts and turkey dinners. She was a voracious reader and an enthusiastic book club participant. Cryptic crossword puzzles were her daily mental challenges in later years. She taught Brad and James the joys of chess, which they both enthusiastically passed on to their children. She also loved to swim, and tennis became an early sporting interest, as well as cross country skiing, which she and Joe enjoyed for nearly 50 years. After her tennis days were over, she somewhat reluctantly took up golf and eventually became an avid player, although she wisely never kept score! Playing kitchen bridge, while joking, chatting and kabitzing with other couples was something in which she was always an enthusiastic participant. In her spare time, she spent many tranquil hours knitting and crocheting.

Susan returned to the workforce in 1982, with positions in the Accounting sections of the Consulting Companies Agrodev and Envirocon. She continued in the accounting field on a part time basis until 2010. During this time she was active in community service with Volunteer Ottawa.

When she and Joe built their country house in Quebec in 1997, her love of nature came to the fore. Tending to flower gardens and bird feeders became part of her daily routine as well as regular swims in Lac Noir. She played an active role in the local community and served as Secretary Treasurer of Association Tamagor for 7 years.

Susan embraced the opportunity to see the world, whenever possible. This included sabbatical years abroad in Strasbourg and Nottingham. She and Joe visited her native Ireland several times, as well as being regular travelers to Morocco and Jordan to visit James and family. Many trips were made to California to see Brad and his girls, while New Zealand and South America were other destinations.

She adored her five grandchildren, and they, her. Nana's chocolate chip cookies were always ready for their consumption. Susan embraced life with a passion and immersed herself in it.

Susan`s health was first compromised in 2019, when she contracted aggressive Lymphoma. Following chemotherapy, she had 14 months of remission before the disease returned. In November of 2021, she underwent CAR T cell treatment as a last resort to fight the aggressive B cell version of the disease.

The family wish to acknowledge the exceptional care of Dr. Carolyn Faught and members of the CAR T cell team at the Ottawa Hospital. Cremation has been carried out with McEvoy Shields in charge of arrangements. Her wish to donate her organs for transplant, unfortunately could not be fulfilled, due to the massive disease load of cancer and pneumonia that she was carrying in her final days.

A celebration of Susan's life will be held at the Family's country residence, in Val des Monts, Quebec on Saturday, July 23, 2022, at 2 pm.

In memoriam donations may be made to the Ottawa Food Bank, Action against Hunger, the Ottawa Hospital or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.