Susan Spangler Hendricks

Susan Spangler Hendricks, 80, died peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at her home at Still Hopes Episcopal Retirement Community. She is predeceased by her beloved husband of 56 years, Lloyd Inman Hendricks. Born in Macon, Georgia and reared in Danville, Virginia, she was the daughter of the late James Christian and Martha Lamon Spangler. Susan’s closest family members include her sister, Sally Spangler Barnett (Bill) of Jacksonville, Florida; sons Lloyd Inman Hendricks, Jr. of Ocean Isle, North Carolina and James Christian Hendricks, of Columbia, South Carolina; four grandsons and one granddaughter, James Christian Hendricks, Jr., John Walker Hendricks, Caroline Ellen Hendricks, Lloyd Inman Hendricks III, and Carter Spangler Hendricks; and sister-in-law, Mary Ellen Hendricks Turner, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

A strong believer in the value of education, Susan earned many degrees, completing two years at St. Mary’s Junior College in Raleigh, North Carolina and graduating from the University of South Carolina, where she was a member of the Chi Omega Sorority. She later audited a variety of courses at the University of South Carolina “for fun” and then earned two master’s degrees, the first from The Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, California, followed immediately by a second master’s degree in social work from the University of South Carolina.

Never one to sit idly, Susan worked in several important roles, all of which were to better her community and help others. She was the chief fundraiser for the South Carolina State Museum, which opened in its current location in 1988 and raised money for the exhibit of The Best Friend of Charleston, America’s first passenger steam locomotive. She was an influential lobbyist and was instrumental in the South Carolina General Assembly’s passing of the primary enforcement of seat belts law, which has saved countless lives. She also lobbied for Planned Parenthood, a cause that was important to her for giving women reproductive rights. One of her first social work professional experiences was as the leader of small groups of incarcerated women in the South Carolina Department of Correction Women’s Prison. She said, because of this work, her worldview opened to her new understanding of the hardships that led these women to the choices they had made. Additionally, she studied dreams and led small personal journaling and poetry writing groups that focused on honest thoughts, emotions, and reflections for women.

Susan loved her family, friends, the outdoors, reading, brisk daily walks, writing, photography, and adventurous travel. She was a graduate of the Midlands Master Naturalist program and traveled the world with friends on special trips, including hiking the Camino de Santiago in northwest Spain and volunteering with Dining for Women in Kenya and Uganda in east Africa.

A columnist for The Columbia Star for 60 consecutive months, she educated readers on bettering themselves, including delightful and uplifting articles on the therapeutic value of “getting outside and communing with nature” and the importance of the practice of gratitude, which leads to fullness of heart. These special articles, which she concluded submitting three years ago, can still be found on The Columbia Star’s website.

A funeral service will be held on Thursday, July 11 at 11:00 a.m. at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Columbia. The family will receive friends immediately following the service in Thompson Hall. Memorials may be made to Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 3200 Trenholm Road, Columbia, SC 29204, or the organization of one’s choosing.

An inspiration to so many at all stages of her life, her large circle of lifelong and newer friends, including the wonderful caregivers and staff at Still Hopes, will miss her and the family appreciates all they did for Susan, particularly in the last year.