Susan Jane McColl

With deep sadness, we announce the death of Susan J. McColl on September 30, 2025, beloved wife of Anthony (Tony) McColl; devoted mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, friend, nurse, caregiver; and musician.

Susan was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on April 13, 1951. She was the first child of Marjorie and Walter Hesz.

She is survived by husband, Tony; son, Aaron Gray (Deana) of High Ridge, Missouri; stepson, Steve McColl (Sandy) of St. Louis, Missouri; grandchildren, David Gray, Austin Gray (Paige), Makenzie Carpenter (Joey), Cody Gray (Kristin), and Maxwell and Eva McColl; and great-grandchildren, Liam, Kylie and Kennedy; brother, John Hesz (Sidney) of Winters, California; sisters Nancy Hesz (Gary Dixon) of Yellow Springs, Ohio, and Cathy Colten (Rob) of Holland, Michigan. She is also survived by her “adopted” daughter, Dio Loveall (Chris) and “adopted” grandchildren, Parker and Brian Loveall.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her first husband, David Wayne Gray, and her oldest son, Nathan Ronald Gray.

Susan graduated from Glenbard West High School (Glen Ellyn, Illinois), Illinois College (Jacksonville, Illinois), and Barnes Hospital School of Nursing (St. Louis, Missouri). With great joy, Susan and Tony married on May 31, 1986, and raised their blended family of sons in Ellisville, Missouri. Susan and Tony moved to Colorado in 1999 residing in Fort Collins and then Loveland.

The importance of friends in Susan’s life was demonstrated by her ability to connect, reconnect, and maintain communication with friends from her elementary school days. One of her favorite Girl Scout songs went, “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.” Facebook friends who enjoyed her TILT (Things I Like Thursdays) will recognize Susan’s words posted this summer, “I love finding old friends on FB and reconnecting. A lot of life has happened in our many years on Earth. Sharing our stories helps me make sense of it all and adds to our connectedness in this broken world.”

Susan was an outspoken proponent of justice, love, peace, affordable healthcare, and feeding the poor. She was passionate about helping children receive proper medical care and assisting their parents in navigating complicated medical diagnoses, providing proper nutrition, and finding specialists. That passion evolved into providing the same kind of support for family and friends: any question, any medical situation anyone faced, they knew they could talk to Susan about it. She’d do the research to find an answer or go with them to the doctor to translate the medical jargon.

A lifelong musician, Susan most recently played her flute with the Loveland Concert Band and the Estes Valley Chamber Orchestra and Oratorio Society Chorus. She began singing in choirs and had been looking forward to continuing singing with the Silvertones of Fort Collins this fall.

Susan was a member and elder of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Fort Collins. As elder during the Covid pandemic, she facilitated worship services under a tent in the parking lot, a gift of love to the congregation.

We expect that Susan has been welcomed into paradise with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute, 1721 E 19th Ave, Suites 200-300, Denver CO 80218 or to the Food Bank for Larimer County, 5706 Wright Drive, Loveland, Colorado, 80538.

A Memorial Service celebrating Susan’s life will take place on Saturday, November 15 at 2:00 P.M. at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1709 W. Elizabeth Street, Fort Collins, Colorado.