Susanne Angela Koch McCurdy
Dec. 11, 1949-July 18, 2020

Susanne was born in Wolfegg, Germany to Paula Weiss and Konrad Koch. She was born at the town water pump station where her family lived in a small house with a dirt floor. When she was five, she and her family took a boat to America, where a relative from Michigan had sponsored them. She spent a few years there in Michigan, playing with the farm animals and beginning to learn English. Soon after, they moved to another relative’s home in Alabama, doing a year of school, as well as some more farm duties. When she was nine, the family again upped and moved far away, this time to Los Angeles. Konrad got a great job using his electrical engineering degree, working at an electrical manufacturing company while Paula managed the Cock N Bull restaurant on Sunset Blvd, where Susanne enjoyed working part time as a server to Hollywood’s stars. Susanne enrolled in Gardena schools, where she met many of her lifelong friends, including her future husband and love of her life, Larry McCurdy. She loved hanging out at the beach and giving her friends beauty makeovers.

After graduating from Gardena High in 1968, she went on to beauty college and got her certificate of cosmetology. In 1970 she and Larry married got and moved to Long Beach. For the honeymoon they took a road trip up the coast, passing by College of the Redwoods. They thought it must be an elite private college from the looks of it, but soon found out it was a free community college and were inspired to move to Eureka two years later to attend classes. They both eventually graduated from HSU, Susanne with a teaching credential, and Larry with a business science/accounting degree.

Susanne had three Children – Byron (45), Brook (43) and Bryce (31). She was always doing fun art projects and her house was the preferred gathering place for all of the neighborhood kids. She was an active member of the PTA and volunteered for everything. When her daughter, Brook, was an active member of Redwood Concert Ballet, she did everything from making costumes to photographing the dancers and writing articles for the Times-Standard.

Susanne spent many years happily substituting for Eureka City Schools, loving the flexible schedule and seeing the children’s happy faces. She primarily worked at Marshall Elementary School, until the school closed, and then chose to work at Washington Elementary afterwards. Many students still remember her for her “hardworker” list. She loved caring for the school’s pet rats, rabbits, and goslings during school holidays and breaks. She also loved taking care of her own “zoo” of pets at home which over the years included many cats, dogs, cockatiels, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, hamsters, parakeets, canaries and finches.

Susanne was always very artistic and crafty. She especially loved taking pictures and scrap-booking. She also loved talking with her friends and family, and could stay on the phone chatting for hours. On weekends she loved bargain hunting at yard sales, finding things for her rental decorating projects. Rain or shine she enjoyed taking the family and dogs to the beach, finding pockets of sea shells and building driftwood houses. During summer months she enjoyed annual camping trips with family from Los Angeles. She also loved hosting many foreign exchange students from Germany, Turkey, and Japan.

Most of her life was spent in good health, but in 2008 she began to notice that her balance was off. In 2010 she was diagnosed with Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS) which is a degenerative neurological disease similar to ALS. She had a slow progression which eventually saw her in a wheelchair and unable to talk to friends and family on the phone. Larry retired in 2010 to take care of her and they enjoyed taking care of their grandkids, Grayden (11) and Landon Larson (10). She was diagnosed with liver cancer in February 2019 which eventually took her life on July 18, 2020.

A family celebration of her life is planned for a later date. Donations may be sent to Sequoia Park Zoo.

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