Susanne Thomason Hudson

Susanne’s lifelong love of beauty began in childhood with a bouquet of flowers picked from her grandmother Carrie’s garden. Among the blooms she discovered there, hydrangeas would become her favorite—and, in many ways, a signature of her life’s work. As a teenager, Susanne found a Saturday job at Potpourri, an antique store in Mableton, Georgia. With her first earnings, she purchased her first antique, a bow-top trunk.

Those two early sparks of a love of gardens and a fascination with beautiful, timeworn things grew into a remarkable career in interior and garden design. Susanne possessed an extraordinary sense of space, placement, color, and possibility. Small in stature but grand in vision, she had a gift for transforming ideas and dreams into tangible places and experiences.

Her work earned national recognition and was featured in publications ranging from Southern Living to This Old House. Her gardens were also showcased by Home and Garden Television (HGTV) in programs including A Gardener’s Diary, Look What I Did, and Tour of a Georgia Garden.

Yet Susanne’s influence extended far beyond her professional accomplishments. She devoted much of her energy and imagination to Douglas County, while her design work and collecting took her throughout the country, with clients from coast to coast and across the regions in between. Many of those clients became lifelong friends. Susanne understood the profound joy that can be found in a home and garden, and she was passionate about helping others create places that felt like sanctuaries.

Her creative vision touched countless aspects of community life. She helped bring design companies, art councils, art centers, historic preservation efforts, festivals, tea rooms, unique shops, and special venues to life. When Susanne undertook an event, people knew it would be memorable.

One of her most enduring achievements was her leadership in the effort to save the historic Douglas County Courthouse from demolition. Working with a dedicated group of citizens, Susanne helped preserve the courthouse and secure its future. Today, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as the Museum of History and Art, a focal point of downtown Douglasville. Susanne continued to encourage her community to “save old stuff” and to value the history, stories, and accomplishments of the people who came before.

Her commitment to Douglasville and Douglas County was reflected in decades of service. She was a founding member and past president of the Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville/Douglas County and served as president of the South Cobb Arts Alliance. She served on the Douglas County Tourism & History Commission and the Old Courthouse Museum Board of Directors. She was also involved with the Douglasville Downtown Development Authority, Keep Douglasville Beautiful, the Douglas County Courthouse Gallery, and civic and preservation committees connected with projects including the opening of Arbor Place Mall, the City of Douglasville Plaza, and the new Douglas County Courthouse.

At the Mable House, Susanne was an organizer and creator of festivals, bringing her distinctive energy and imagination to community celebrations. She was also a cofounder of the Penny McHenry Hydrangea Festival, an award-winning event that continued for 16 years and helped strengthen tourism in Douglasville and Douglas County. Her love of hydrangeas had come full circle, from her grandmother’s garden to a festival that celebrated the flower and drew people to the community she loved.

Susanne’s memberships included the American Hydrangea Society, Ama Kanasta Garden Club, and the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation.

Those who knew Susanne will remember not only what she created, but the way she made people feel: inspired to see possibility in an old building, a garden, a room, an antique, or a community. She had an extraordinary ability to recognize beauty and potential where others might not yet see it, and then to bring that vision to life.

Her legacy lives on in the gardens she designed, the historic places she helped preserve, the festivals and cultural institutions she helped create, and, most importantly, in the many people whose lives she touched. Douglasville is richer for her imagination, determination, generosity, and love of place.

Susanne leaves behind a legacy as enduring as the gardens she cultivated and the historic treasures she fought to preserve. She will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered.

Susanne Thomason Hudson is survived by her mother, Dorothy “Dot” Thomason; her son, Tony (Laurie) Griffith; grandchildren, Evan Griffith, Nic Griffith and Alex Griffith and siblings, Deborah (Gary) Sosebee and Tommy (Jennifer) Thomason.

The family will receive friends at Whitley Garner Funeral Home Friday, September 18 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Graveside services will be held at Crestlawn Memorial Park 2000 Marietta Blvd Atlanta, GA on Saturday, September 19 at 10:00 am.

In lieu of flowers please make donations to https://www.georgiatrust.org/product/donate/

Whitley Garner at Rosehaven is honored to be entrusted with the services of Susanne Hudson.