Memorial
Susan Dianne Sample passed away peacefully on Tuesday, June 18, 2013, in St. Charles, Mo., after a long illness at SSM Hospitals. She was formerly of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, living near Chicago and St. Louis since 1985.
She was the beloved wife of Dale Sample since 1986.
She is survived by her husband, Dale; her two children, Mimi (Charles) Mayfield of Castro Valley, Calif., and Ken Knutson of Cedar Rapids; her two sisters, Nancy (Tim) O’Connell of Edwardsville, Ill., and Joan (Bob) Maxwell of Woodward, Iowa; her stepson, Matthew Sample of California; her grandsons, Jared, Lucas and Benjamin Mayfield of Castro Valley; her granddaughter, Chelsea Knutson of Cedar Rapids; her nieces and nephews, Carissa, Daniel and Fredrick O’Connell of Edwardsville, Ill. , Sarah O’Connell of San Francisco, Andrew O’Connell of Springfield, Ill., Jay Maxwell of Kihei, Hawaii, Jana Schwerdtfeger of Carlisle and Amanda Marsh of Cedar Rapids; her sisters-in-law, Jackie (Ron) Thomas of Iowa City and Theresa Nunez of Melbourne, Fla.; her brother-in-law, Robert (Elaine) Sample of Grand Marais, Minn.; uncle, Newell Lash, and aunts, Shirley Coon of Cedar Rapids and Joyce Lanier of South Carolina; her children’s father, Thomas Knutson of Cedar Rapids; her father’s second wife, Char Marsh; and her many friends.
She was preceded in passing by her brothers, Rick Marsh and Kenneth Eric Marsh; her parents, Lucille Marsh and Ken Marsh; and parents-in-law, Frankie and Emory Sample.
Susan graduated from Cedar Rapids’ Thomas Jefferson High School in 1963, attended Kirkwood Community College and received a speech degree from the University of Iowa. She taught locally in the Cedar Rapids school system and spent several years as an outreach coordinator at Kirkwood, working with students, professors and administrative personnel. Her favorite local position was as a CBS anchor reporter for the Cedar Rapids affiliate, including a very special project with CBS’s Harry Reasoner on “Iowa 2000.” After moving to Chicago, she worked as a media consultant for commercial business videos and as an HR placement professional.
She was an avid reader of all things. She loved the theater and traveling. Sue was a unique woman who was never afraid to speak her mind. She had a green thumb, could cook up a storm and could transform a house into a beautiful home in no time at all. Sue's wit, beauty, sense of humor and interesting conversations will be forever remembered and forever missed.
A remembrance will be held at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home, 4200 First Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids, on Saturday, July 27, from 1 to 4 p.m. CST, with family presentation at 2 p.m. For more information call (319) 393-8000. She was cremated at Valhalla Cemetery in St. Louis, Mo.