Susan Carolyn Defoe-Urbach, aged 79, passed away on August 21, 2023 after a several-year battle with cancer and kidney failure. Susan was born in San Francisco on May 30, 1944 to Edward C. and Barbara A. Defoe. Susan was the eldest of five daughters.

Susan had a lifelong love for music, and excelled as a multi-instrumentalist. As a teenager, she participated as a cellist in the Fresno County Junior Philharmonic Orchestra, and was a classically trained pianist. She also played organ, banjo, guitar, and autoharp. One of her greatest joys was playing the pipe organ, which she did for several years as pianist/organist at First Presbyterian Church in Sanger, California.

In 1964, Susan met George Henry Urbach while they were both enrolled at the University of Minnesota. They were married on December 16, 1967 at the Grace University Lutheran Church on campus. In 1968, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Library Science and studied pre-law. She gave birth to a son (Robert) in 1971, and four years later had a daughter (Caroline) in 1975. The family moved frequently for George's work, but in 1980 settled in Sanger.

In 1982, Susan started work as a Special Education Teacher's Aide at Centerville School in the Sanger Unified School District. It was clear to her that she had found her calling, and she pursued and earned a Teaching Credential in Special Education. In 1984, she was hired to a full-time position as a Resource Specialist with SUSD, where she remained until her retirement in 2009.

Susan is survived by her husband of 55 years, George, her sisters Sherryn, Leslie, Sandra and Laurel, her children Robert and Caroline, and her grandchildren Delia, Avery and Waylon.