Susan Medley

Susan Camp Medley passed away peacefully in the presence of her beloved husband Joel at The Ridge Pinehurst in Lakewood, Colorado on February 24, 2022. For the last month of her life she was also in the wonderfully compassionate care of AGAPE Hospice.

Susan was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey on January 31, 1945 to Manton Camp Martin and Anne Rheinhardt Martin. Her middle name reflected her connection to one of the oldest colonial families of Connecticut. Her connection to that state was deepened by her attendance at Connecticut College from which she received her Bachelor’s degree in 1966. With that degree in hand Susan began her life’s work in early childhood education, eventually becoming a recognized specialist in the teaching of pre-school special needs children. After completing a Masters Degree at Tufts University’s Elliott Pearson School, Susan moved to Denver and made Colorado her home for the rest of her life. She retired from the Jefferson County School District.

Susan was an active member of Littleton United Methodist Church and was dedicated to ministries serving the homeless, particularly LUMC’s feeding ministry, Break Bread. She also worked tirelessly for Giving Heart and the Severe Weather Shelter. If anyone ever has lived John Kennedy’s observation that “here on Earth, God’s work must surely be our own,” it was Susan.

Whether passing out freshly purchased sandwiches to homeless on the street, visiting prisoners, or easing their transition to life outside prison walls, Susan practiced her faith through action. Challenged once about whether her commitments to these ministries might be putting her own financial security at risk, she replied firmly, “that is between me and God.”

In addition to her husband, Joel, Susan is survived by her sister, the Reverend Carol Simpson and Brother-in-law Dr. Michael Simpson of Boulder, Brother- and Sister-in-Law, Doug and Allison Wilson of Aurora. Niece Jennifer Simpson of Boulder, and nephew Robert Simpson of Syracuse, NY also survive as do a great niece, Helyn and two great nephews, Martin and Benjamin. Also left to mourn are her father’s second wife, Rosemarie Gift, with whom Susan maintained a close and loving relationship, a vast network of friends, and the innumerable lives she touched in ways big and small.

A celebration of life service will be held on Saturday, August, 27, 2022 at 10 am in the sanctuary of the Littleton United Methodist Church, 5894 South Datura Street, Littleton, CO 80120. Light refreshments will be served following the service.

For those wishing to make memorial gifts in Susan’s name, the family suggests the following charitable activities with which Susan was involved: the Break Bread ministry at the Littleton United Methodist Church, https://break-bread.org , Giving Heart, https://givingheartenglewood.com/ , or The Severe Weather Shelter Network, https://swshelternetwork.com .