Susan Loretta Shuter (née Mockler) was born in London, Ontario, in April 1948. Her early years in London weren’t happy, and she dreamed of a more liberating place. In 1964, she moved with her family to North York where she met Brian Shuter while joining his 11th-grade class at Earl Haig Secondary School. They graduated together and soon tied the knot. She had two kids whom she adored: Sean, born in 1968, and Jennifer, born in 1976. Once her children grew up a bit, Susan followed her passion for nurturing young minds by earning a degree in Early Childhood Education. She worked at various nursery schools and eventually evaluated their quality for local governments before becoming the head teacher at Lansing Co-operative Nursery School. In 1998, Susan and Brian relocated to Dundas where she started working with the Hamilton Salvation Army providing childcare and parenting classes for single mothers.
After a car accident in 2001 left her unable to care for young kids anymore, she retired from teaching and began writing short stories as her second career. Over the next decade, her work was in the Globe and Mail along with two literary magazines. Traveling had always been a shared love of hers and Brian’s; after retiring they explored Scotland, England, Ireland, Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, as well as many spots across Canada and the U. S. In 2018, they settled near Thunder Bay to be closer to family. Unfortunately, early signs of dementia emerged around 2017 that gradually progressed over the following nine years. While the illness took away many aspects of Susan’s life along with some cherished moments with family members during this time period; her last eight months were relatively joyful as she experienced a return to childhood allowing her mischievous spirit to flourish again.
Her family would like to express gratitude to all the staff at Hogarth Riverview Manor (6S) for their excellent care over the last two-and-a-half years as well as those at TBRHSC (2B) for their kindness ensuring comfort during her final hours. Instead of flowers being sent; donations made on behalf of Susan towards either Alzheimer Society Of Thunder Bay or Doctors Without Borders Canada would be greatly appreciated.
In memory:
Her mirth the world required,
She bathed it in smiles of glee.
But her heart was tired, tired
And now they let her be.
Her life was turning turning,
In mazes of heat and sound
But for peace her soul was yearning
And now peace laps her round
– Mathew Arnold
Condolences may be made through www. nwfainc. com
