Susan Ruth Lafferty Posted: 2020-10-09 16:57:37

Obituary

Susan Ruth Lafferty, 75, died peacefully at her home in Huntley on September 22, 2020. She was born in Chicago on May 19, 1945, the daughter of Charles and Ethel Smith. She is survived by her husband, Thomas Lafferty, whom she married on September 28, 1996. She is also survived by her daughters, Amy (Farhad) Kosari and Mary (Eugene Smith), by her stepchildren, Kevin (Joan) Lafferty and Lise (Jason) Grebely, and by her six grandchildren, Audrey and Vivienne Smith, Reid and Sienna Lafferty and Kaitlin and Carter Grebely. Also surviving Susan are her brother, Charles (Marilyn) Smith, her sister, Marcia Frankenberry, and four nieces and two nephews. Born and raised in Chicago, Susan lived for extended periods in Pittsburgh PA, Cumberland MD, and Milwaukee WI before retuning to Illinois. She received a college degree from Southern Illinois University before embarking on a career that included various positions in the travel industry, finishing her career in a management position with Amtrak. Throughout her life, Susan volunteered her time in the service of others for a wide variety of causes, including child advocacy, literacy and hunger. She loved all children, and early volunteer work found her helping out in orphanages. Most recently, she started and led a book club in her Huntley neighborhood. Susan had a great love for writing and over the years a wide range of her work was published in the local press. In her hands, words seemed to flow onto a page as though from an artist’s brush. Susan was a Stephen Minister and a Deacon in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and an active and devoted church member throughout her life. She loved hymn singing, the Old and New Testaments read aloud in church, and was a great and gifted student of the Bible. A memorial service honoring Susan’s life will be scheduled by invitation at a future time.

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Karen Witz 2020-10-20 20:11:57

Knowing you has enriched my life and I hope I can follow your example. RIP