Susan Steinbruegge Williams, 75, of Olin, N.C., passed away on July 14, 2024, at the Gordon Hospice House in Statesville, N.C. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dan Williams, and their beloved son, Robb. Susan’s parents, Frank and Kathy Steinbruegge, and her sister Joanna Bragg, are also deceased.
Those left to cherish her life and memory are her daughter, Christy Withgott (Jeremy); her granddaughter, Quinn; her brothers, Bob (Kathy) and Chuck (Urszula) Steinbruegge; her sisters-in-law, Rena (Donald) Turner, Ellen (JD) Sprinkle, and Barbara Williams; her very dear niece, Nancy Keith; and many friends and large family.
Susan was born on December 20, 1948, in Atlanta, Ga., and graduated from Briarcliff High School in Atlanta, and from Lenoir-Rhyne University with a Bachelor of Arts and a Master’s degree in Birth to Kindergarten Education.
Susan was a fierce advocate for her children’s education, with both requiring special needs support, each at opposite ends of the spectrum. The schools, school systems, and the state were familiar with her in her endeavors to ensure every letter of the law was followed to implement the necessary curriculum.
Early in her career, Susan was a Health and Physical Education teacher as well as a basketball coach at Troutman Middle School. She worked for many years in the accounting department at Clark Equipment Co. Following completion of her master’s degree, she was an itinerant teacher in child development and day care centers for Iredell schools, and later preschool and resource teacher at Pressly Elementary School and North Iredell Middle School. In her spare time, she was the business operations manager for JoAlDa Farms Inc. and later for Dan’s Dairy. As her time working as an educator was winding down, she enjoyed being a substitute teacher for various schools around northern Iredell County.
She invested significant time and energy in her family, church and community. She served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Mitchell Community College and was a member of the Council for Exceptional Children and the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
She was regularly honored as a member of the Winners Circle by North Carolina’s Special Olympics Committee and had served on the Iredell County Special Olympics Steering Committee. She was a member of the White Rose Circle of the Kappa Delta Sorority as well as a proud member of Daughters of the American Revolution. She was an active member of Friendship United Methodist Church and, most recently, Union Grove United Methodist Church.
She was an avid reader, by the year 2000 she must have read every single book at the Iredell County Library (mostly the fiction ones). She also very much enjoyed tennis, competing in a league at Caldwell Tennis Courts in the 1980s-1990s.
Her most recent passion was her granddaughter, Quinn, who is involved in a small community theater in Phoenix, Ariz. In late April, she was able to visit Phoenix and see Quinn perform as Dory in a musical version of Disney’s “Finding Nemo.” Her family is grateful that she was able to experience that joy.
Susan will be remembered for her fierce faith and large heart, for her generosity, empathy and compassion, and her courage and strength.
The family will visit with friends, Sunday, July 21, 2024, at Union Grove United Methodist Church from 2 to 3 p.m. Funeral services will immediately follow at 3 p.m. with Rev. Janet Wolf and Rev. David Hamlin officiating. Burial will take place at Friendship Methodist Church Cemetery.
Pallbearers for the service will be Robbie Steinbruegge, Jamie Steinbruegge, Andrew Bragg, Charlie Manship, Asa Massey, and Lenny Keith. Honorary pallbearers are Bill Demmond, Bob and Kathy Steinbruegge, Chuck Steinbruegge, and Marge Massey.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Union Grove United Methodist Church, 1331 Sloans Mill Road, Union Grove, NC 28689, or to Hospice and Palliative Care of Iredell County, 2341 Simonton Road, Statesville, NC 28625.
Troutman Funeral Home is serving the family.