Susan J. Kieffer

Sue is survived by her husband of 50 years, Terry Kieffer, and their three children; daughter Marie Barhydt, her husband Erik, and their sons Ethyn, Wesley, and Elias; son Brian Kieffer, his wife Cara, and their children Leo, Lucy, and Andi Sue Marie; and son T. Michael Kieffer.

Terry and Sue married on March 4, 1972. Together, they built a successful fundraising business from the ground up. She had a passion and talent for numbers. She kept the books for the family business for over 45 years. She shared this passion with her children, helping them with their businesses for over 10 years. Despite helping to run a business, she always found time to volunteer for her church, her children’s school, and their after-school programs. She also enjoyed volunteering for the Community Transportation Network and the Special Olympics program.

Sue had a true passion for world travel. In addition to visiting all 50 states, she traveled to Italy, France, the Netherlands, Hungary, Austria, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Luxemburg, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, St. Johns, St Lucia, St. Martin, the Bahamas, and Canada. She even had the opportunity to take her grandchildren to Disney!

Her love for travel was only surpassed by the love she had for her family. She loved being a “Grammy,” and enjoyed her retirement years taking her grandchildren to the park, to the zoo, or out for ice cream and a convertible ride on a Sunday evening. She was a fun-loving Grammy and a kid at heart; she would be the first person to hop on an amusement ride with her grandchildren or zoom down the hill in a Red Rider wagon filled with kids. On any given day, you could likely find her baking cookies in the kitchen, much to the delight of her grandchildren (and husband).

Sue was kind, generous, caring, and dedicated her life to the service of her family and others, which she always did humbly. She remembered everyone’s birthday and you could always expect a timely card in the mail from her. She hosted a grand Christmas formal for friends and family each December, complete with saxophone players, acapella groups, and a real live Santa Clause. She spent the entire year buying gifts and writing personalized letters from Santa for each of the 30-40 children that would attend.

A woman of faith, she faced her cancer journey with a level of bravery and strength that was inspirational to her entire family. She very quickly turned her cancer journey over to God, accepting her diagnosis as His will and proceeded to live every day to the fullest. When doctors told her that cancer would most likely take her by Valentine’s Day, she laughed and said, “My 50th wedding anniversary is March 4th. I’ll go after that!” That is the kind of woman mom was; strong, resilient, and determined. In her final months, she dipped her feet in both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, caught a show in Las Vegas, traveled to five states, saw the Rolling Stones, celebrated her Golden wedding anniversary, and most importantly baked many, many cookies (and memories) with each of her grandchildren.

Sue had a special love and devotion to angels, and her family is comforted by the fact that she is surely now an angel watching over her entire family.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30am on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 1502 East Wallen Road, Fort Wayne, with calling from 9:30am, until the time of service. Calling will also be held from 4 to 8pm, Tuesday, March 15, 2022, at D.O. McComb and Sons Pine Valley Park Funeral Home, 1320 East Dupont Road, Fort Wayne. Burial will be in Highland Park Cemetery, Fort Wayne.

Memorial donations in her honor may be directed to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital for Cancer Research. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy for Sue's family may be shared at www.McCombandSons.com