Susan Marie White

Susan Marie White, 72, of Steger, IL, passed away on December 17, 2021, after a courageous battle with cancer.

Susan was born on March 5, 1949, to Francis John Hartney Jr. and Virginia Ann Hartney née Pidanick in Blue Island, IL.  After graduating from Fenger high school in 1967, she went on to work as an executive secretary.  Later she returned to school for an Associate of Arts degree in mental health specializing in substance abuse and domestic violence and worked part-time as a medical transcriptionist.

Susan’s passion and love for all animals started as a young child owning and caring for cats, dogs, birds, fish, and horses.  Her mother taught her how to raise, breed, and groom poodles and she enjoyed doing so for many years.  Later in life, she fell in love with the dog breed of Japanese Chin.  As a hobby breeder, she studied pedigrees and spoke to breeders all over the US to learn.  She became well-regarded and known in the Japanese Chin community.  Her Chin were her pride and joy, many were of show-ring quality!  She loved educating and helping people with their pets, if you had a dog-related question Susan was the one to call! 

She enjoyed the peace of her freshwater fish aquariums with her favorite being the beautiful angelfish and bettas.  She loved looking at any pictures of nature scenes, horses, fish, or flowers.  Susan enjoyed making fancy and elaborate crafts as well as ceramics and Christmas ornaments.  She considered herself a wizard on the sewing machine making everything from curtains to clothing.

In her spare time, Susan liked reading and collecting cookbooks.  She took pleasure in trying new cuisines and loved spending time in the kitchen passionately creating delicious healthful meals.  In her later years, she became more involved in health and adopted a mostly plant-based diet.  Throughout her fight with cancer, she also embraced some alternative health methods in addition to traditional cancer medical care to increase her longevity.  She never gave up and appreciated all the loving care from her partner, daughter, son-in-law, and the medical staff.

She is predeceased by her father Francis John Hartney Jr; mother Virginia Ann Davis, maternal grandmother Eva Pidanick née Hazel; maternal grandfather William Pidanick; paternal grandmother, Vera Hartney née Jones; paternal grandfather, Francis John Hartney Sr, and former fiancé, Thomas Dickson. 

Susan is survived by her partner James, daughter Cherie (Cullen); brother John (Dawn); nephew, Trevor; former husband and father to her daughter Richard, as well as several cousins, friends, and her beloved Chin.

Visitation and service will be on January 15, 2022, at Lain-Sullivan Funeral from 1 pm to 6 pm. 

Please leave a sympathy message to the family on the tribute wall. You may also light a candle and offer a prayer in honor of Susan.