Susan Alene Schoenhals passed away on July 19, 2021, at the age of 51. She is survived by her husband Edwin Kaczor, sons Sacha and Soren, mother Dorenda Bailey, father Paul Schoenhals, brother Ryan (Kathryn), sister Karyn (Hughe), grandmother Bernice Stirton, mother-in-law Jean Kaczor, sisters-in law Anne Marie (Todd), and Alicia (Scott)and many loving friends and extended family members.
Susan was, without question, an effervescent light in the life of everyone she met. She shone brightly before she was even born: she made national headlines helping her pregnant mother win the Canadian curling championship in 1970, and she was born later that year on June 11th, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to Dorenda and Paul.
She took up her post as big sister to her brother Ryan and her sister Karyn with vigour, and approached her role as mini farmhand to her grandparents with similar aplomb - she ran the tractor through Grandpa’s barn at age six!
Never one for limitations, Susan cultivated a lifelong love of swimming while growing up on the Prairies, a practice that she took around the world, and brought back to Saskatchewan on her annual family trips to the lake with Dorenda in Waskesiu. Susan celebrated her last birthday with a sunset swim in one of her favourite places: Kits Pool in Vancouver.
In high school Susan was an all-around athlete excelling in basketball. There she found her passion for language and travel setting out on a three-month exchange to a village in rural France. She returned to live in France and study at the University of Nice for a year with her friend Leanne during her undergraduate studies at the University of Saskatchewan.
In 1994 Susan moved to Vancouver where where the Lyall clan took “Cousin Susan” in under their collective wings. From there, she began work at Spectrum Signal Processing where she made lifelong friendships. Her sister Karyn moved in with her soon after, beginning what Karyn affectionally describes as “the time of Susan’s life!” But Susan soon made another lifelong connection via Spectrum- her husband Ed.
Ed and Susan’s romance took them to London for four years, where they travelled Europe and Africa at every opportunity and grew their shared love of French and Italian language, culture, and cuisine. Susan worked for Tourism British Columbia while in London which enabled her to maintain the link to BC. They moved to Boston in 2001, where Susan completed culinary school at Boston University, learned to cheer for the Red Sox, and explore the East Coast. She married Ed in a lakeside ceremony in Kelowna in September 2001, and they welcomed their son Sacha in 2003. In 2005 they returned West, settling down in Vancouver and welcoming their son Soren in April of that year.
Sacha and Soren were Susan’s world, and like all her endeavours, she devoted herself to motherhood with her full heart. Susan was a natural and true friend to so many, and she brought her ability to foster connection to her role as a mother, creating a happy and enriching childhood for her sons. The family loved traveling to Tofino, the Okanagan, and Europe, and they enjoyed visits with her father Paul in Palm Desert every spring. Susan and Ed celebrated her 40th birthday in Paris in 2010.
Susan was built tough: she beat breast cancer in 2011, and founded “Susan’s Sisters”, an annual breast cancer fundraising run. She also ran with the Bat Girls, whose members knew her grit well, having renamed a particularly steep hill “Susan’s Hill”. Susan’s loving friends, including Christine and Mandy walked her cancer journey with her, witnessing her courage firsthand: Susan kept running and swimming until a few weeks before her passing.
More than anything, Susan was the joy and sparkle in every room. Her laugh was all-encompassing and her bubbling, warm light suffused every interaction. While her energy could make any gathering a party, she was also sincere, encouraging, and thoughtful. So many recognize her handwriting, having received her beautiful handwritten notes. She took great care to maintain loving relationships with friends and family all over the world, and her ability to remember the birthdays of everyone she ever met - even if just for a moment - was fascinating. In every stage of her life, Susan built friendships and created a sense of community for those around her.
To love Susan was to love the highest expansive energy that we can experience with another, and to be loved by Susan was to feel seen and uniquely celebrated by her. To imagine Susan is to see her mid-laugh, radiating joy.
Susan was taken from us far too soon, and she will be deeply missed. Her spirit will always be cherished and celebrated for the immense happiness that she created in her lifetime.
In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider making a donation to DRIFCan: Diabetes Research Institute Foundation Canada, to help in their pursuit for a cure for diabetes: https://www.drifcan.com/support/