Susan Catherine Bradfield Garnett

Susan Garnett died on December 22, 2021, at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital after having suffered cardiac arrest the day before at the home she shared with her brother-in-law and sister, David and Cinda Hortin in Tallahassee FL. A Celebration of Life service will be held at Trinity United Methodist Church, at Park and Duval, Tallahassee FL, Thursday, March 17, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. Also surviving are her beloved cousins Stephania Ann Harden-Martin (John) and family, and Mary Lynn Harden Remington (Clark) and family. Susan was born in Pasadena CA to Robert A. and Catherine Young Bradfield, who predeceased her. Although she spent much of her childhood in Spencer WV and Clearwater FL and her career years in Dallas TX, she always thought of herself as a native daughter of California. A graduate of Clearwater High School, Susan attended St. Petersburg Junior College and Stetson University prior to her marriage and subsequent divorce, ultimately graduating from University of South Florida in 1979. Responding to a short-term job offer in Dallas TX, she moved immediately after graduation from USF. She had majored in mass communications and, before long, was employed by Northwood University, where she worked for twenty years in public relations and development. Her brother, Steve, moved to Dallas for a several years before moving to California with American Airlines. Susan was in Dallas when she was stricken in 1999 with an autoimmune response to an unidentified cancer. Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration is a rare and difficult-to-diagnose illness. By the time it was diagnosed, it had invaded the cerebellum of her brain and left her totally disabled physically. The cancer was ovarian cancer, which was successfully treated with surgery and chemotherapy. After two months of therapy in Dallas, her mother insisted that she move back to Clearwater. Susan’s father had died in 1979, and her mother died in 2001. Susan thought she would like to stay there, but the care situation fell apart; so, with Steve’s help and that of wonderful friends Myrna and Ron Young, the house was prepared to be sold and David and Cinda moved her to Tallahassee to live with them. Susan was a movie buff before she became ill. After her illness hit, her love of movies was a lifeline around which she built her daily life. She enjoyed watching a variety of movies and selecting particular movies for her friends who came to join her. She could see fine to watch movies, but her eyes did not work together for her to read. For many years, she and Cinda read books together. She loved visiting with friends and family via phone as well as in person. They visiting often through the next twenty years, brightening her life. Susan had a keen sense of humor; and, in spite of the dire circumstances thrust upon her, there were lighter moments in most days. These years were filled with countless medical crises; but she had been planning new ways to invest herself during the pandemic years, so the sudden decline of her body was a surprise. It was well known among Susan’s family and friends that she loved all things cats. During her twenty years in Dallas, she rescued several stray cats who had begun living in the lower niches of her two-story apartment building. She would take them to Operation Kindness, a no-kill shelter in Dallas, for medical care, having females spayed and releasing them back into the neighborhood, as was advised. One Christmas, she rescued a whole family when the kittens had been born during a blizzard. At the urging of her mother, Kate Bradfield, who was visiting, she kept one of the kittens, who instinctively comforted all the other when they cried. The other kittens were taken to Operation Kindness where they were adopted and the mother was spayed and released back where she had been living. Katie was a special cat who comforted Susan through her illness. Good friends, Warren and Rita May helped Susan write a book about “Nurse Katie.” In addition to her affection for cats, Susan increased her interest in other animals and gave support. The movies “Andre” and “My Octopus Teacher” made her want to know more about sea lions and octopuses; and field trips prior to her illness gave her a continuing interest and desire to support elephants. When she was a youth at First Methodist Church in Clearwater, a trip to the Florida Methodist Children’s Home gave her a lifelong interest in supporting them with her contributions. Susan and her family will be forever grateful to the family and friends who so generously extended thoughtfulness and generosity in many ways, including helping to provide for extra care for Susan. And, Susan was blest with some very kind, competent, and loving caregiver who enriched her life and her family’s. If you are thinking of a memorial gift for Susan, please, consider a contribution to: Florida United Methodist Children’s Home – Trinity United Methodist Church - - - - P. O. Box 1086 – Tallahassee FL 32302 Ukraine Relief – Global Ministries/UMCOR, GPO, P. O. Box 9068, N.Y., N.Y. 10087-9068 Leon County Humane Society – 413 Timberlane Rd. – Tallahassee FL 32312 Wildlife Conservation Network – Save the Elephants – 209 Mississippi Street – San Francisco CA 94107 And, please, read Susan’s expanded biography under her obituary at Bevis Funeral Home – Tallahassee FL, where Todd Wahlquist and their staff have been helping Susan’s family.

Tributes

Susan Catherine Bradfield Garnett

April 24, 1947 - December 22, 2021