Susan Catherine Wesselowski
August 22, 1956 ~ November 17, 2023
Susan Catherine Wesselowski passed away on Friday November 17, 2023, surrounded by family and on her own terms. She spent the last 20 months with an excruciating diagnosis of esophageal cancer. In her final month she was able to make her own decision to move to hospice and comfort care after suffering from an esophageal rupture. She spent the last 4 weeks in the house she loved with friends, family, and her dogs. Because Susan spent her final days in her own power, there is no question that she won her battle with cancer. There has never been a victor greater than her.
Susan was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana to Janet Wesselowski (Boettcher) and Thomas Wesselowski on August 22, 1956. She spent time living in Lafayette, LA, New Orleans, LA, Great Bend, KS, Gunnison, CO, Tucson, AZ, and spent the majority of her life in Wichita, KS. Susan graduated from Wichita State University with a Bachelors in History. Susan was a wonderful cook, and many people will remember tasting her food at the restaurants where she worked in Wichita - Piccadilly, Old Mill Tasty Shop, and Watermark Books and Cafe. Rumor has it Watermark still uses her Focaccia bread recipe to this day.
Susan gave birth to her best friend and daughter Catherine “Cate” Alden Wesselowski in April of 1995. While raising a child as a single mother, she returned to WSU to get her Bachelors in Education and spent 14 years teaching Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, and AP Calculus at Heights High School. She retired from teaching in May of 2021. After her diagnosis, she would frequently bring her calculus textbooks to her chemo appointments and work on math problems to pass the time.
The people who knew Susan will remember her as strong, independent, curious, kind, reflective, creative, a lifelong learner, a lover of hot tea with honey, and an incredible champion for those she loved.
Susan is survived by her mother, Janet, her brothers, Kirk and David, her daughter, Cate, her son-in-law, Garrett, and her dogs, Sammy, Noah, and grand-dog Teddy.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Susan’s name to the organizations she regularly supported - KMUW 89.1 FM, 121 N. Mead, Suite 200, Wichita, Kansas 67202, Kansas Humane Society, 3313 N. Hillside Street, Wichita, Kansas 67219, and Doctors Without Borders, P. O. Box 5030, Hagerstown, Maryland 21741-5030.
A memorial service will take place on Saturday, December 30, 2023, at 2:00pm. The service will be held at Downing and Lahey West Mortuary, located at 10515 West Maple Street, Wichita, Kansas.
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Susan was the best neighbor & an even better friend. She was strong, independent, & brave, never complaining during her long battle. She loved animals including the rabbits, squirrels, possums, the robin that built her nest over her back porch yard light and especially her rescued “pups”. I will miss our chats over the back yard fence, watching our dogs play & our flowers grow. I’ll really miss her homemade muffins she always shared.
I’ll see you on the other side my friend.