Susan Spiegle

Susan was a loving wife of 42 years, a devoted mother and an over-the-moon grandmother. She was a woman of deep faith, contagious energy, creativity and an extraordinary ability to make people feel that they mattered.

Susan was born on August 7, 1959, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to John and Aileen Faulks. She was the youngest of three children, growing up with her brothers Todd and Tim, in Mequon, Wisconsin.

Susan graduated from Homestead High School, where she excelled as a member of the downhill ski team. After graduation, she attended UW-Eau Claire for two years before transferring to UW-Madison, where she graduated in 1983 with a degree in Nursing. She went on to build a nursing career that spanned more than 25 years.

During her time in Madison, Susan met her landlord, Duane, who would ultimately become the love of her life and husband.

After marrying in 1984, Susan and Duane moved to Oklahoma City for Duane’s job, where Susan continued her nursing career. Two years later, they resettled in Minneapolis and welcomed their first child, Sarah, followed soon after by Micah, Laura and Aaron. Her children were the absolute joy of her life, and she poured her heart and soul into raising and loving them.

Always committed to learning and helping others, Susan earned her master's degree in Marriage and Family Counseling from Bethel University. She was passionate about using what she learned to come alongside and support her patients and their families.

Her family continued to grow through the addition of her children’s spouses, Nicole, Dillon and Katie. These new unions brought nine beautiful grandchildren into her life: Charlyn, Raquel, Lucie, Addison, Andre, Colton, Marley, Hunter and Piper. Susan valued each of her children, in-laws and grandchildren. She loved to watch them grow, discover the world and become their own unique selves.

Susan’s faith and generous heart gave her a deep capacity to care not only for her family, but for those around her. She was a member of Grace Church in Eden Prairie for more than 25 years, where she met regularly with close friends to pray for personal and family needs. She treasured quiet mornings spent journaling, reading, and intentionally growing in both her faith and character.

She also volunteered at Grace Church, working with single mothers, mentoring younger women in their faith journeys and reaching out to women from other cultures as they adjusted to life in America. As part of Grace Church missions’ teams, Susan and her family traveled to Peru and Kenya on several occasions, serving through medical outreach and youth ministry.

Her desire to serve others continued through P.R.O.P. (People Reaching Other People), a local nonprofit supporting community needs. Susan generously gave her time and energy wherever she saw an opportunity to help someone in need.

She was extremely creative and had a passion for making handmade jewelry from broken and discarded pieces, which she shared with friends and family under the name “Sincerely Susan.” She even had an entire room dedicated to her jewelry-making and other artistic pursuits. She loved learning new techniques and exploring different mediums, often taking classes with family and friends who shared her enthusiasm for creating.

Travel was another great love of Susan’s. She and Duane enjoyed a wide variety of international and local adventures and Susan seemed to make new friends wherever she went. Their travels included a 30th anniversary trip to Italy, a Danube River cruise, a curated trip to Portugal, a Seine River cruise and a “Footsteps of Paul” tour through Greece and Turkey. Together with their family, they also traveled to South Africa, Mexico and England. Discovering new places was simply part of who Susan was.

Even with all the international travel, her heart belonged to "Narnia," her family's lake home in Wisconsin. For more than 40 years, Narnia has been a treasured place for family, nature, laughter and memories. She also loved Door County, where she and Duane frequently traveled to spend time with his family. She became especially close to her in-laws, nieces and nephews. She loved them dearly and they loved her in return.

Whether at the lake, in Door County, traveling across the world or simply gathering around a table to do a puzzle with her family during the holidays, Susan understood that the best part of any place was the people she was sharing it with.

Susan was passionate about living a healthy, vibrant life. In her younger years, she taught fitness classes and was an avid runner who competed in races of all lengths, most impressively completing marathons and half-marathons. But above all, she treasured being in nature, making lifelong memories camping, biking and hiking with family and friends.

When Susan was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer in 2021, she faced the battle with remarkable determination, faith and grace. Through difficult days and uncertain moments, she continued to love, serve, create, travel, laugh and make memories with the people who meant the most to her. Her legacy will continue through the memories shared by all those who knew and loved her.

Susan is preceded in death by her loving parents, John T. Faulks and Aileen B. Faulks (Boyd) and stepmother Patricia Faulks (Spick).

Susan is survived by her husband, Duane Spiegle; daughters Sarah Spiegle and Laura (Dillon) Barmore; sons Micah (Nicole) Spiegle and Aaron (Katie) Spiegle; nine wonderful grandchildren; and brothers Todd (Anne) Faulks and Tim Faulks.

Celebration Details

A Celebration of Life will be held on Wednesday, October 21 at Grace Church Chapel at 9301 Eden Prairie Road, Eden Prairie, MN. Visitation at 10:00am, Service at 11:00am with a luncheon to follow. Please enter through Door 2.

What to Wear

Susan loved vibrant colors! In her memory, we invite you to wear something fun and bright as we celebrate her life.

Give in Her Memory

Susan was an active participant and supporter of Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance. In her memory, please consider making a contribution to MOCA, to support their meaningful work.