Our beloved mother, Susan Lee Walker Anderson, passed away on Sunday, May 10, 2026. It was fitting that she left us on Mother’s Day, as she was such a fabulous, caring, and devoted mother and grandmother.

Susan was born on July 22, 1948, in Salt Lake City. She spent her early years with her family in Cody, where she attended Cody High School. She later returned to Utah and earned her bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University. One of the highlights of her college years was an unforgettable trip through France and Western Europe with close friends. Among them was her dear friend Bonnie, who became like a sister to her. Together, they shared countless adventures, including elaborate attempts to hide their many pet cats from their landlord.

When Bonnie battled cancer twice over the course of ten years, Susan was steadfastly by her side, helping in every way possible, including caring for Bonnie’s young daughter, Jane. After Bonnie’s passing, Susan adopted Jane as her fourth child and continued to love and raise her as her own. Jane remained just as cherished and deeply connected to Susan as her biological children.

After college, Susan spent time in Ithaca, where she enjoyed the area’s natural beauty and emerging vegetarian cooking culture before eventually returning to Utah to continue raising her family.

The greatest joy and passion of Susan’s life was motherhood. She created meaningful traditions and routines that filled her home with warmth, creativity, and love. From nightly homemade vegetarian dinners to celebrating every holiday to the fullest, she made everyday life magical for her children. St. Patrick’s Day meant all-green meals and decorations. St. Nicholas Day meant wooden shoes filled with treats. Christmas dessert included an almond hidden in tapioca pudding to bring a year of good luck. She even handmade custom holiday pillowcases for each child. Beyond these traditions, Susan was endlessly patient, supportive, and kind, always making time to listen, encourage, and offer guidance to her children well into adulthood.

Her children attended the Open Classroom program, where Susan spent 13 years volunteering as a parent co-op teacher, primarily teaching science and participating in annual classroom campouts. During her years as a stay-at-home mother, she also volunteered in the 11th Ward Relief Society and Primary.

Susan was a lifelong feminist with a thoughtful and quietly courageous spirit. Alongside her church service, she enjoyed attending the Sunstone Education Foundation Symposium and gathering with like-minded members to discuss ways to create greater inclusion and space for women’s voices within the church. This reflected the anti-authoritarian streak that was always part of her personality, whether addressing larger issues of politics and fairness or humorously resisting being told to “have a nice day” because, as she would joke, “don’t tell me what to do.”

Susan was also a keen observer of nature and a deep lover of animals. She respected all living things and truly “wouldn’t hurt a fly.” She delighted in the changing seasons, from the first crocuses emerging through the soil to the “miracle tree” that budded first and held its leaves the longest each year. She adored blooming pansies with their “little faces” and loved watching the pair of doves outside her back window. She shared her love of geology and rocks with her children through trips to admire petroglyphs and hunt for geodes. Even later in life, as she navigated dementia, she still found comfort and joy in admiring and sorting her extensive rock collection. She also had a remarkable gift with plants, nurturing enormous and flourishing indoor and outdoor gardens.

After her children were grown, Susan returned to school to continue using her nurturing gifts in service to others. She earned a master’s degree in counseling and went on to work for ten years as a child therapist specializing in sand tray and play therapy for children who had experienced trauma. She possessed a natural ability to connect with children through her warmth, humor, and playful spirit.

Susan will be profoundly missed by her family and the many friends whose lives she touched. Though her spirit has left this world, we find comfort in knowing her love and influence continue on in all those she cared for so deeply.

Susan is survived by her four children: Justine (Julio), Marshall (Jen), Felicity (Bryce), and Jane (Kevin); her grandchildren, Camila, Sylvia, Rosie, and Colin; and her siblings, Linda and Perry (Kim).

She was preceded in death by her parents, Virgil and Norma, and her brothers.