Susannah Marciana Kelley

Susannah Marciana Kelley passed away following an extended illness Friday, June 27, 2008, in Stockton, Calif. Susannah is the daughter of Sandra Andrews Lochen Kelley and the niece of Sheila Lochen Wolfe, who grew up in Waukesha. 

Susannah, who kept her maiden name as her married name, was born in Ashtabula , Ohio , on Friday, Nov. 13, 1959. She learned to walk and talk in Yakima , Wash. With her brothers and sisters, she attended elementary school in Whitefish, Mont. , and St. Matthews and junior high school in Kalispell , Mont. After growing up and going to school in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Texas, California and Washington, D.C., she married Jim Garrett in 1987. They settled in Tehachapi , Calif. , and later, with their children, in Bellingham , Wash. After spending two years in Nicaragua , they moved to Stockton in 2005. 

Susannah was preceded in death by her dad, James Edward Kelley, formerly of Elm Grove, Whitefish and Fairbanks , Alaska , and by two children who died in utero, Quentin Jesœs and Grace Mar’a.

She is survived by her husband, James “Jim” Gregory Garrett; their four children, Hunter Riann (almost 18), Katherine “Trina” Lochen (15), Claire Victoria (12) and Devon Francis Chase (9) Garrett, all of Stockton; and her mother, Sandra Kelley of Concord, Calif. Susannah is also survived by her four younger siblings, Colleen Elizabeth Kelley, M.D., (husband Antonino “Nino” Mendolia) of Bennington, Vt., Col. James “Jack” Andrews Kelley (wife Carolyn “Carrie” Osterberg Kelley) of Park City, Utah, Rebecca “Becky” Jeanne Taalbi (husband Gustave “Gus” Taalbi of Milwaukee) and Brian Edward Kelley of Great Falls, Mont.; nine nieces and nephews; maternal aunt, Sheila Wolfe of San Antonio; paternal aunt, Mary Ellen Kelley O’Dwyer of Wayne, Pa.; and numerous cousins.

Susannah was a dedicated Catholic Christian who home-schooled her four children, giving them the best possible moral and academic foundation. After graduation from high school at St. Scholastica Academy, Ca–on City, Colo., Susannah began her university studies at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, completing her degree in international politics at Georgetown University in Washington , D.C. She followed this with a master’s degree in Latin American studies at Georgetown . She pursued her love of Latin America by traveling and living throughout Central America and South America for a year, and working as a student intern in the U.S. embassies in Costa Rica and Venezuela . Susannah earned a master of business administration from Golden Gate University in San Francisco and her teaching credential from University of the Pacific in Stockton .

Susannah’s student teaching internship was in Tracy , Calif. She taught at Edison High School in Stockton and for seven years in Tehachapi Unified Schools, and most recently taught Spanish at Lincoln High School , Stockton .

In Nicaragua , Susannah sponsored the education of several students and had remained involved in the lives of at least seven families. With her husband, Jim, she co-facilitated the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults course at St. Luke’s Parish, Stockton.

Susannah’s life will be remembered at the family home with visitation and Irish wake from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday, July 8. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 9, at St. Luke’s Catholic Church in Stockton . Internment will be in Bayview Cemetery in Bellingham , Wash.The family requests that friends hug their children, parents, spouses, siblings and loved ones in lieu of flowers. Memorial donations can be made to the Hospice of San Joaquin or to your local hospice.