Susan Maurie Grier

A Life of Compassion, Resilience, and Love

Susan Grier was a beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother whose life was defined by compassion, creativity, resilience, and an enduring love for others. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 21, 1947, Susan’s life journey took her through Nebraska, Arizona, and Texas, where she formed lasting connections and touched countless lives with her generous heart and caring spirit.

Susan dedicated much of her professional life to caring for others. She worked with individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities in group home settings, providing not only assistance but also dignity, patience, friendship, and understanding. Her commitment to caregiving continued in her personal life as she lovingly cared for her mother, Mary, and later served seniors through Home Instead. For Susan, caring for others was more than a profession; it was a calling that reflected her deep compassion and belief in the value of every individual.

Beyond her work, Susan was a creative and artistic soul, a natural teacher, and a gifted storyteller. She had a way of sharing experiences, memories, humor, and wisdom that brought people into her world. She loved fashion and jewelry, finding delight in personal style, color, and beautiful things. Movies offered her another source of enjoyment, imagination, and connection.

Susan’s interest in Native American culture was especially meaningful because of her grandmother’s Cherokee heritage. She felt drawn to its traditions, symbolism, and reverence for the natural world. The wolf was her spirit animal, representing qualities she admired: strength, loyalty, courage, intuition, and devotion to family. These qualities echoed Susan’s own resilience and her determination to continue caring for those she loved.

Animals were among Susan’s greatest joys, and dogs held a particularly special place in her heart. She appreciated their unconditional love, loyalty, and companionship. A lover of nature, she found beauty in the creatures of the earth and the quiet wonders of the world around her. Nature offered a connection that transcended words, reminding her of the enduring bonds between all living things.

Susan’s life was not without challenges, but she met life’s difficulties with resilience and a determination to keep moving forward. Her strength was reflected in her ability to continue giving, creating, teaching, and loving through life’s changing seasons. She understood, in her own way, that compassion can bring light into difficult places and that even the smallest acts of kindness can leave a lasting mark.

Susan is survived by her sisters, Connie Pedersen and Kathy David; her husband and dear friend, Roger Schmidt; her sons, Eric Schmidt (Dorian) and Curt Schmidt (Kassie); her stepson, Mike Bryan; her grandchildren, Courtney, Alyssa, Savanna, and Ashley; great grandchildren, Freya, Jaxon, Carlos, Michaelangelo, and Anastasia; many nièces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her beloved parents, Mary and Maurie Grier, grand-parents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Family meant everything to her.

Susan’s legacy lives on through the family she loved, the people she cared for, the stories she shared, and the lives she touched. Her influence will continue in the generations that follow her, in the lessons of compassion she imparted, and in the memories that will be treasured for years to come.

As Susan’s journey on this earth comes to a close, may those who love her find comfort in the natural world she cherished and in the spiritual connection that brought meaning to her life. The wolf, her chosen symbol of strength and loyalty, offers a fitting image of her enduring spirit—a reminder that love creates bonds that reach beyond distance, hardship, and even death.

Perhaps Susan’s spirit can best be imagined in the quiet of a forest, in the call of a wild creature, in the gentle presence of a beloved dog, or in the whisper of the wind moving through the trees. The earth continues its ancient rhythms, the seasons turn, and life carries forward, holding within it the memory of those who have gone before us.

May Susan now find peace, free from the burdens of this life, embraced by the beauty and stillness of the natural world she loved. May her spirit journey onward with the strength of the wolf, the freedom of the wind, and the love of her family forever surrounding her.

Her journey here is complete, but her love remains. She will live on in the hearts of those she leaves behind—in every story remembered, every act of kindness inspired by her example, and every moment when the beauty of nature reminds us that love, like the spirit, is never truly lost.