Susan H Schuler

Susan Hattendorf Schuler – the beloved wife and life partner of 50 years to Dave Schuler, extraordinary mother to Sue Schuler, Barbara (Ethan) Canin, Kurt (Diane) Schuler, and Sarah (Daniel) McNamara, and a dear, adoring grandmother “Gonny” to Hayden & Jack McNamara, Isabel & Liam Schuler, Amiela, Ayla, & Misha Canin, and Tori (Charles) Bloomer & Katie (Alex) Rushlow – passed away on Wednesday, July 2, at the age of 88, encircled by her family and the love of her friends.

Born March 30, 1937, the second daughter of Glen and Helen Hattendorf, she grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, attended Walnut Hills High School and in 1959, graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

One of the abiding joys of Sue’s life and the original fuel for her lifelong love of the natural world were her childhood summers spent on Torch Lake, in northern Michigan, where she first came with her parents in the 1930s. It was there that she met her husband Dave in 1954; they married five years later and together raised their four children in Hinsdale, Illinois. They were all fortunate to spend every summer of their lives on the lake, where Sue and Dave retired to live full-time in 1997, until Dave’s passing in January of 2010.

Susie (or Sue, to those who met her later in life) was a perennially fascinated naturalist and birdwatcher and a generous teacher about the intricacies and delights of the natural world, both at the Morton Arboretum, outside of Chicago, and at Grass River Natural Area, in Bellaire, Michigan, a place to which she gave several devoted decades of service. At Grass River, she taught classes, guided wildflower walks, landscaped and tended the Serenity Garden, and served on many committees, including the one steering the fundraising and construction of the Grass River Education Center.

As one of the Torch Lake “Woodswomen” with her dear friends and fellow nature-lovers, she delighted in exploring every habitat in northern Michigan and beyond – the dunes, the wetlands, the forests, the meadows, and all of the plants and creatures who live there. Her dedication to environmental stewardship and advocacy led her to open The Nature Connection, a shop in Alden, where she sold books and gifts that allowed her to reach larger audiences and to teach others – especially children – about the importance of the natural world.

During various seasons in her life, Sue was an enthusiastic tennis player, an expert bridge player, a committed piano student, an avid reader and lover of literature, and a deeply thoughtful seeker on the path of the spirit. This seeker’s soulfulness informed so much of her life and her way of being in the world.

Always ready to offer a warm smile and a kind word, she exemplified compassion, acceptance, grace, and generosity of spirit. Sue’s magic was in the quiet care she showed to the people and the world around her. Everything she touched, she made better.

Sue was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Nancy Wingard, her daughter Sue, and her husband Dave. She is survived by her children Barbara, Kurt, and Sarah and their spouses, her nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

A memorial gathering in celebration of Sue’s life will be held on August 31, 2025 from 2-5pm, the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, at her cottage on Torch Lake. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the new Childrens’ Nature Playground being built at the Grass River Natural Area.

Arrangements are in the care of the Bellaire Chapel of Mortensen Funeral Homes. Please sign her online guestbook www.mortensenfuneralhomes.com.