Susan Crow

Susan Crow, 73, of Rochester, MN passed away on August 24, 2024 at Seasons Hospice House with family by her side.

Susan (Ann) Carroll Crow was born on June 15, 1951, to parents Bernard and Helen (Hanson) Carroll, in Beloit, Wisconsin. She received a BS in Biology from UW-Stevens Point and later an MS in Computer Science from the University of Nebraska. She went on to have a career in computer programming. On May 13, 1978, Susan married the love of her life, Frank Crow, who she first met while they both attended UW-SP as undergraduates.

Susan is the second oldest of seven children. She is survived by her husband, Frank; mother, Helen Carroll; brothers, Leonard Carroll, Jeffrey (Theresa) Carroll, Randy (Carrie Ann) Carroll; sisters, Laura Carroll, Carrie-Lee (Drew) Carroll; niece, Carissa (Ryan) Carroll; nephews, Tobias (Allison) Appel, Jared (Dana) Appel, Christopher (Nicole) Carroll. There are four grand-nieces and one grand-nephew. She is preceded in death by her father, Bernard and sister, Patricia.

Sue was raised on the family dairy farm, located near the small southern Wisconsin town of Orfordville. There were many outside chores to perform and Sue also was heavily involved with her mother in the care of the ever increasing Carroll brood. She stayed on the farm through high school in Orfordville. Sue was a talented flutist, holding first chair while in high school and going to state. She was in the concert band and marching band. This was all quite an accomplishment for a person who was tone deaf. She graduated from high school in 1969 as salutatorian. After a short stint at a local community college, she transferred to UW-SP where she majored in Biology and met Frank there as well, both studying and working in the Science Building.

In her youth, Sue, along with all of her other siblings, was heavily involved in many aspects of 4H: animals, crafts, cooking, and especially sewing. Trained by Helen, she sewed clothing and outfits for herself and also for her siblings. It was normal for Sue to receive first place awards at the 4H Fair for her efforts. Her early successes with sewing did not result in her wanting to make all of her own clothes. Exactly the opposite - Sue's talent for sewing took a turn and she developed a love, nay, a passion, for Art Quilting.

After their marriage, Sue and Frank moved to Columbus, OH, where they stayed only a short time. In 1979 they moved to Lincoln, NE, where they stayed until 1984. Immediately upon their arrival Sue returned to college, attending UNL where she completed a Master's Degree in Computer Science. It was in Lincoln where Sue discovered her second great passion, the Martial Arts. First Frank, and then Sue, after completing her graduate work, began training in Okinawan Karate and Kobudo, the latter being Ancient Weapons. Sue (and Frank) trained for 4 hours twice per week and also attended training on Saturday mornings

By the time the Crows left Lincoln in 1984, Sue was ready to test for her Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt. She received her black belt from Kinjo Takashi in 1985 during a martial arts trip to Okinawa specifically for testing.

Sue and Frank left Lincoln, both to pursue employment at the Upjohn Pharmaceutical company in Kalamazoo, MI, with Sue as a computer programmer and Frank as an analytical chemist. There, they began their secondary careers as martial arts instructors. Eventually, they joined with a group of like-minded instructors of different styles in a joint venture called the Southside Dojo.

When Sue met Frank, she was already designing and making baby quilts for friends and family. It was in Kalamazoo where she really developed her quilting talents and joined an excellent quilter's guild called Log Cabin Quilters. She rose in the ranks of that organization, holding every office in the guild and eventually becoming President of the guild for a time.

She continued to hone her talents, creating more complicated and beautiful designs. These quilts became entries in local quilt shows, state shows and eventually culminated with Sue entering and being juried into the prestigious American Quilter's Society (AQS) annual show held in Paducah, Kentucky. Sue didn't enter just once. She entered multiple times, and each year was juried in. The family plans on entering her latest masterwork called "Asobu" (Japanese for "to play") into not only the next AQS Paducah show, but also into the famous Quilt National show which is held in Athens, OH.

In 1999 Sue and Frank relocated to Rochester, MN, where Frank took a job at the Mayo Clinic as an analytical chemist. Sue went on "sabbatical," one that lasted until she "retired". Sue continued her training in the martial arts. She and Frank started up new classes in Rochester. Sue continued to advance in rank in their organization, obtaining 10th Degrees in both Karate and Kobudo, which is the highest rank attainable and one of only three in the USA or four in their organization, worldwide.

In Rochester Sue began her third great passion, (having not abandoned the other two), namely dogs and dog training. Charlie, their first English Springer Spaniel, came by way of Frank's father, Pat Crow. Sue and Frank helped pick out Charlie for Pat, knowing that Pat did not have long to live and that the dog would be theirs eventually. Charlie was a 5 year old retired Champion show dog, and was the Sue and Frank's first dog. They didn't do training with Charlie, a mistake. When Charlie passed, another Springer, Dewey joined the family. Dewey's training began at the age of 13 weeks, and Sue never looked back. Dewey was trained in Tricks, Obedience, Rally, and Agility. He did very well in his training and competitions, reaching a very high rank in the dog world, in Rally competitions in particular, attaining the rank of Rally-Advanced-Excellent, RAE. When Dewey was eight years old, along came the new puppy, Spencer, yet another Springer. For quite a while Sue was training both dogs in both Agility and Rally. They lost Dewey quite unexpectedly in 2023. Now Spencer remains with Frank, serving as his training partner. They are competing together for the first time in the 2024 Rochester Dog Show, something that is a dear wish that Sue expressed.

While in Rochester, Sue and Frank took advantage of travel packages put together for Mayo employees, family and friends. They visited China, the Galapagos Islands, Africa, Iceland, and took an Adriatic Sea sailing cruise. They designed their own trips to Norway and the US Great

Southwest. There were also numerous trips to Seattle and the Northwest USA, as well as an excursion into the very Southwestern portion of Canada.

Sue took on numerous other activities. She decided to learn the Japanese language in spoken and written forms. She did this with the help of Japanese tutors, visitors to Rochester who were staying in town for extended periods. One of these tutors became a very good friend, and Sue took on a project of teaching her to quilt, a very successful endeavor. Sue has also been the secretary for her neighborhood association for longer than most can remember.

Sue will be remembered always for "her great laugh", her kindness, dedication, strength, wisdom, and humility. She was a great companion, friend, teacher, and wife. She was vibrant, impressive, greatly admired, and most of all....dearly loved. Her legacy will live on in the hearts of all who knew her. May she rest in peace, knowing she was loved deeply and will be missed dearly.

A Celebration of Life open house will be held on September 28 from 1:00 to 5:00pm at:

Blue Moon Ballroom

2030 US-14 East

Rochester, MN 55904

In lieu of flowers, please consider gifts to one of these charities:

Ronald McDonald House Charities Midwest, 850 2nd St. SW, Rochester, MN 55902

or

The Nature Conservancy (MN), 1101 West River Parkway, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55415-1291

Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home is honored to be serving the Crow family.