Susan Carol Garland

Susan Carol Garland, 84, of Spring Valley, CA, passed away Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at Kaiser Zion Hospital in San Diego.

Sue was born July 2, 1941, in Chicago, IL to William and Mildred Lannom. She graduated from North Park Academy (high school) in Chicago in 1959. She attended Chicago Teacher’s College, which became Northeastern Illinois University, and graduated in 1963. On June 29,1963, she married Don Garland at the church where they met, First Covenant Church Chicago. The couple lived in Des Plaines, Arlington Heights, and Oak Park, IL before moving to California in 1967. First to La Verne in southern CA, before going to the Bay Area in northern CA, living in Alameda and then San Leandro for many years. They moved to Spring Valley in the San Diego area in retirement, where they enjoyed their beloved community at Covenant Living Mount Miguel.

Sue had a passion for teaching, fulfilling that dream with teaching jobs in both Illinois and California, for a total of 26 years. She loved teaching children to read and did so as a first-grade teacher for many of those years. She also loved to read books, newspapers, and other literature herself, with her favorite book being The Holy Bible. She enjoyed teaching the Bible to many age groups through the years. Sue loved going on walks, attending Christian camps in the Midwest and the Santa Cruz mountains in CA, visiting the beach in Carmel and Coronado, visiting with family and friends, and attending or hosting a great party. Sue loved becoming a mom, and later a grandma, treasuring all the moments together, no matter the distance or the weather. She loved talking on the phone or video calls as the years went by.

Sue had a lifelong faith in her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, trusting in him all the days of her life, ready at the end to be in heaven with Him. She faithfully worshiped and served in many churches through the years, with Women’s Ministry being a focus during their many years at First Covenant Church in Oakland, CA. She also served as Covenant Women President in the Pacific Southwest Conference of the denomination for a term. Sue also became a Stephen’s Minister in Oakland and later a Befrienders Minister in Spring Valley, giving spiritual support and care to those in a season of suffering. Sue and Don attended Bible study groups and fellowship groups together throughout their 62-year marriage, an important part of the richness of life they shared.

She is survived by her husband, Don Garland; son Bill (Laura) Garland of Round Rock, TX; daughter Beth (Troy) Mitchell of Austin, TX; granddaughters Andrea (Martin) Lilja of Östersund, Sweden, and Becky Mitchell of Rochester, MN, and Lauren (the late Clay) Mitchell of Richmond, VA. Grandson Tyler Garland of Grand Forks, ND; brother Larry (Linda) Lannom of Northbrook, IL.

The memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, November 22, 2025, in the Bailey Center Chapel at Covenant Living at Mount Miguel, 325 Kempton St., Spring Valley, CA.

Memorials are preferred to the Covenant Living Mount Miguel Benevolent Fund.

Online condolences are welcome at https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/12550647