Individual Details

Obituary from Casa Grande Dispatch, December 22, 1983: Prominent Educator Susie Thurston Dies. Susie Adaline Thurston, prominent retired Casa Grande educator, died Monday at Hoemako Hospital after a brief illness. She was 72. Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. today at the Cole & Maud Mortuary chapel, 215 S. Washington St. Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the Casa Grande United Methodist Church, 1515 N. Trekell Road. The Rev. Jerry Haas will officiate. Burial will be in Mountain View Cemetery. Mrs. Thurston was born April 5, 1911 in Wichita, Kan. She was a member of a pioneer family; her parents were Dr. and Mrs. George O. Shoemaker and her grandfather was Judge W. P. "Tiger Bill" Campbell, a pioneer judge of early day Kansas. A 1935 Graduate of Wichita University, she was social worker for many years. She married Harold K. Thurston, Feb. 1, 1935; he preceded her in death in 1965. The Thurstons moved to Missouri after World War II. Mrs. Thurston received a degree in education from Warrensburg State Teachers College in Missouri. She taught school in Missouri and also served as grade school principal. In 1959 the Thurstons moved to Casa Grande where Mrs. Thurston taught at South School (now Ocotill) until her retirement. In 1968 she was awarded the Freedoms Foundation Valley Forge Teachers Medal in recognition of one who has made notable patriotic contributions to youth leadership in the United States. Active in community programs, Mrs. Thurston was a member of the Fred A. Humphreys American Legion Auxiliary Unit Eight and a past president of the alpha Delta Kappa (society of women educators). As historian and publicity chairman for the legion auxiliary she received a number of state awards in recognition of her work. Mrs. Thurston is survived by her son, Harold George Thurston of Shawnee, Okla.; her three sisters, Mrs. Katherine E. Simmons and Mrs. Mary L. Bienz, both of Wichita, Mrs. Lucy K. LeBlanc of Casa Grande and a number of nieces and nephews.

Birth	5 Apr 1911	Wichita, Sedgwick Co., Kansas
Marriage	1 Feb 1935	Harold Knox Thurston
Death	19 Dec 1983	Casa Grande, Pinal Co., Arizona
Burial		Mountain View Cemetery, Casa Grande, Pinal Co., Arizona

Spouse	Harold Knox Thurston (1897 - 1965)
Child	Harold George Thurston ( - )

Father	George Oscar Shoemaker (1873 - 1942)
Mother	Susan "Susie" Barnes Campbell (1875 - 1950)
Sibling	George Oscar Shoemaker Jr. (1909 - 1980)
Sibling	Mary Lorraine Shoemaker (1916 - 1994)