Susan Jean Bailey

Susan Jean Bailey of Nashville, Tennessee passed away at the age of 78 on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 after a courageous battle with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).  She never lost hope and was sound of mind throughout her struggle.

Susan was born on September 19, 1945 in Portland, Oregon to the late Arthur Frederick and Margaret Mae Quirin. She grew up in Dallas, Oregon where her father worked in sales and her mother was a homemaker and mother of four children.  She was educated in the public schools in Dallas and spent a semester abroad in Germany.  She then went on to Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, receiving a B.A. degree in 1967.  Later she received a Master of Education degree at the University of North Dakota.

She developed a sterling career in Early Childhood Education.  She began her teaching in the Head Start program on the Red Lake Indian Reservation near Bemidji in northern Minnesota.  Later she moved to Duluth, Minnesota and entered a second phase of her career at the University of Wisconsin, Superior.  There she developed their Early Childhood curriculum and taught teachers of Early Childhood Education where she was greatly appreciated by her colleague and students for her conscientious dedication to the education of children.

Susan loved interacting with people of all ages; word games such as crossword puzzles, scrabble, and others; cooking, gardening, music and traveling.  She is survived by two brothers, a son, two stepsons and a stepdaughter, as well as several grandchildren and cousins.