What would you do if you were given six months to live? The world lost a great adventurer last month when Maryland native Susie Weadock passed away. Given between six and nine months to live last July, the 79-year-old grandmother decided she’d literally embrace life like there was no tomorrow.
Rather than receiving chemotherapy following diagnosis with a rare intestinal cancer, Weadock set about doing all of the things she’d always longed to do, taking her extended family along for a series of unforgettable adventures.
Inspired in part by the Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson film The Bucket List, Weadock’s list of things to do before she “kicked the bucket” included sky diving, a trip to the Grand Canyon, and swimming with dolphins among many others.
She earned the nickname Super Susie as she checked off these items and others like hang gliding and ATVing with her grandson Paul. The events were chronicled on her daughter’s blog that followed her throughout the process, which saw Weadock complete everything on her list and more.
In January, Weadock and 45 friends and family members went dog sledding in Pennsylvania’s Poccono Mountains. It was her final adventure. In the middle of February, Weadock checked in to Stella Maris Hospice in Baltimore, MA.
Lousie Weadock wrote that her mother was “surrounded by a continual stream of family and friends visiting. She was tired… when she’d wake and see us, she’d beam and say ‘Oh! Look who’s here!’ Then she looked deep into the visitors eyes with a look that pierced your soul and say, ‘I’m going to miss you so much!’”
Family members said Weadock passed away peacefully and gracefully on February 15, her fourth day at the hospital. A memorial was held on February 24 in a Mount Washington chapel, honoring the woman who inspired so many during her quest to live life to its fullest.
Read more at the Towson Times.
