T oday we gather to honor and remember the life of Susie Stepp, a woman with a tender heart, a gentle spirit, and a love for her family that ran deeper than words could ever fully explain. She departed this life on May 14, 2026, in the arms of her husband and children.

Born Inas Sue Teague on August 6, 1970, in West Memphis, Arkansas, Susie grew up in Harrisburg, where she built the roots of the life and family she loved so deeply. She graduated from Central High School, followed by Arthur's Beauty College in Jonesboro, and later built a life centered around the people she loved most, her family.

In 1990, Susie married Tony Sanders, and together they built a beautiful, loud, love-filled family. They welcomed Ashley, Toni, Casandra, and Carmen, who filled their home with laughter, chaos, and love. And when there were finally no more "next times" left to promise, life surprised them with TC. The miracle they never expected would come along, whose little boy spirit somehow made their loud, loving home feel even more alive.

That story feels a lot like Susie's life somehow, full of unexpected turns, laughter, love, and blessings arriving in ways no one planned. But woven throughout her life was also a deep love for the people she missed most. There was a part of Susie that never stopped longing for those she loved and lost; yearning for her mother in the way only a little girl can, for the steady love of her daddy, the bond she shared with her brother Jimmy, and the love and laughter she shared for so many years with Tony. And while we are heartbroken she left us too soon, there is comfort in believing she is finally surrounded by that love again.

In 2008 Susie found love again with Edwin Stepp, and together they built a life she was proud of in Junction City, LA. They shared 17 beautiful years of marriage and together became "MiMi" and "PaPa" to 14 beloved grandchildren, a role that brought Susie tremendous joy and love. She leaves behind her loving husband, Edwin Stepp; her children Ashley Borden, Toni Hervey, Casandra Sanders, Carmen Villarreal, and Thomas Sanders; her beloved grandchildren; 5 siblings; her bonus mother; and many friends and family, who will forever feel her absence.

Susie loved quietly, but deeply. Not loudly or for attention, but through phone calls, worry, forgiveness, remembering the little things, and simply showing up for the people she loved. She had a softness about her that life never managed to take away. She was gentle, compassionate, funny, and deeply empathetic because she understood pain herself.

And maybe that's why this loss feels so enormous. Because people like Susie leave behind a different kind of silence. The kind you notice in ordinary moments. The kind that sits beside you when you reach for the phone. The kind that echoes through the best memories. The kind only created by someone whose presence made people feel safe, understood, and loved.

Susie probably never saw herself the way the rest of us did. She saw her flaws first, but we saw her heart. We saw a woman who kept getting back up after life knocked her down. A woman who loved deeply, forgave easily, and whose children and grandchildren were the light of her life.

Her story was not defined by the chapters where she struggled, but by the love she found again with Ed, the family she rebuilt, and the gentleness she carried despite everything she endured. That is who Susie truly was. And that is who we will always remember.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00PM Saturday, May 23, 2026 at Proctor Funeral Home.