Susan Bertha Auckley passed away on Wednesday, February 26, Ash Wednesday, with family by her side.  Susan was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania on April 19, 1935 to Joseph and Susan Kalinowski. She graduated from St. John Central High School in Bellaire, Ohio in 1953 and subsequently attended St. Francis School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio in 1958 followed by completion of her R.N. in nursing from St. Louis University in 1962.

Susan married James Auckley, a physician, in 1962 at St. Margaret Mary’s Catholic Church in Cleveland, Ohio.  They met when Susan mistakenly asked James for medical supplies, believing he was a student helper due to his youthful appearance.  The couple moved to Fort Worth, Texas while James served two years as an Air Force physician during the Vietnam War. The couple eventually settled in West Lafayette, Indiana where they raised their four children.  James practiced Internal Medicine for 43 years at the Arnett Clinic while Susan raised their children with unimaginable patience.

Susan was known for her kind heart and endlessly positive attitude.  Her highschool classmates summarized her in their graduation yearbook as such:  “Susan is a girl who recalls the lines, ‘Her little nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love endure forever.’ Dependable, capable, and sweet best describes Susan.”  She was voted “Most Generous” upon graduation.

Susan volunteered endlessly throughout the community through such organizations as “The Ladies of Charity.”  She loved exercise and religiously participated in group classes until her passing. She also enjoyed decorating for holidays and displaying thought provoking and uplifting quotes and stories for her family year round.

The impact of Susan’s positive attitude in her children’s lives cannot be overstated and there is no limit to the blessings she brought to each of them.  They say goodbye with undying gratitude for the honor of calling her “mother.”

She is survived by four children, Daniel Auckley and spouse Sherri Auckley of Lafayette, Indiana; Dennis Auckley and spouse Deirdre Wenzel of Bay Village, Ohio; Timothy Auckley of West Lafayette, Indiana; and Patricia (Auckley) Luban and spouse Michael Luban of Lafayette, Indiana.  Susan has 4 surviving sisters: Mary Jo Gerdau, Liz Good, Barbara Jean McFarland of Bellaire, Ohio and Jane Wilson of Malabar, Florida. She has 2 surviving brothers: Raymond Kalinowski of East Liverpool, Ohio and Michael Kalinowski of Bridgeport, Ohio. She is also survived by 9 grandchildren:  Amy, Melissa, Danielle, Grace, Elizabeth, Joseph, Olivia, Sarah, and Nicholas and 1 great grandchild Theodore Freeman. She was preceded in death by her parents Joseph and Susan Kalinowski and her brothers Leo, Anthony, Jimmy, and Joe Kalinowski.

Visitation is at Soller-Baker Funeral Home in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Sunday, March 1, 2020 from 4:00pm-6:00 pm.  Funeral services will be held Monday, March 2, 2020 at 11:30am at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church with a luncheon immediately to follow on-site.

Those wishing may contribute in Susan’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association.