Susie Joyce Campbell

Susie Campbell was born February 12, 1944, in Casa Grande, Arizona. She joined her Lord and Savior on July 15, 2025. Susie was the youngest of eight children born through the union of Mr. Booker T and Mrs. Leona Musgrove. Susie is preceded in death by her parents and her siblings Eula Morton, Booker T. Musgrove, Jr., Joe Louis Musgrove, Billie Ridley, Luetta McDonald, T.M. Musgrove and Verlon Musgrove. She leaves to mourn her beloved husband Mr. Frank A. Campbell and their children Mr. Jerry Campbell (Kelley Campbell), Dr. Sonya Campbell (Timothy Maybin) and Dr. Shannon Campbell (Fearghal O'Reilly); Her legacy lives on through her grandsons: Jurald, Antonio, Daveion and Jalen. While her life's light shines through the many nieces and nephews, cousins, close friends and colleagues she touched deeply, lessons learned from her life can be summed up with three simple axioms: bloom where you are planted, be the difference you want to see in the world, and dare to dream Susie's life epitomized the notion of blooming where you are planted. She spent her formative years in Arizona where she and her siblings chopped cotton under the intense Arizona sun. Those days instilled an unmatched level of fortitude that led Susie from the cotton fields to the fields of nursing, dental hygiene and ultimately education where she touched the lives of numerous students who remember her as an effective, caring, and deeply impactful teacher. Susie understood the importance of education. She knew education was the great equalizer. And, for an African American woman born in pre-civil rights era America, equality meant access, access meant mobility, and mobility led to opportunity...an opportunity to bloom, and that is precisely what she did. She completed her primary education in Tucson and graduated with the class of 1962 from Pueblo High School in Tucson, Arizona. She attended the University of Arizona where she completed her practical nursing education. Shortly thereafter, she met and fell in love with her future husband Frank, who she affectionately referred to as “Campbell”. They spent a lifetime of laughter and love together as they raised three children, while serving as pillars of the community, trail blazers in local politics, philanthropists and travel companions. They successfully traversed life's ups and downs together with a sense of humor and a deep and abiding love for and commitment to one another and the family they created. In 1958 Frank received orders and moved his young family from Ft. Huachuca Arizona to Ft. Wainwright Alaska. For a woman born and raised in the desert southwest, a move to the frozen tundra of Alaska was the polar opposite of everything to which she grew accustomed. Nonetheless, she viewed the move as an opportunity to bloom by working in the nursing field, supporting her husband and two children, growing their family to include their youngest child, and providing a home for their beloved German Shepard Caesar. The cold weather was an opportunity to spend time indoors and draw her family closer, to which she took full advantage. For the remainder of her life, Susie recalled the years she spent in Alaska with great fondness and always dreamed of returning. When the time came for the family to leave Alaska, Susie longed to return to the American West. Life, however, had other plans. Those plans led her to Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri where she hoped to make the best of a three-year journey but ended up spending more than 50 years in a community that she grew to shape and love. She was planted in the Ozarks, and it was there that she became the rarest of blossoms...one that endured all seasons, weathered the storms and traversed change while becoming the best version of herself. In Missouri, Susie bloomed into new careers, community activism and organization, elected office and more. She became a founding member of the Greater Community Missionary Baptist Church in St. Robert, created a non-profit organization (The Coalition for Progress) responsible for providing nearly 50 Waynesville High School graduates with scholarships, developed a wildly successful African American investment club, was the first African American woman to be elected to the Waynesville City Council where she served multiple back-to-back terms, she also hosted legendary holiday parties at her home, and became a stellar cook and baker. Her commitment to ensuring accessibility to higher education meant that she poured into her own children and children throughout the community. This led her eldest son Jerry to earn an MBA, her middle child Sonya to earn an Ed.D. and her youngest daughter Shannon to earn a Ph.D. While she tirelessly promoted the value of higher education, and provided opportunities for others to pursue it, Susie soon realized she could no longer pour from an empty cup and decided to achieve her own higher education goals. In 1990 she earned Bachelor of Science degree, she also earned Master’s Degree in Management and Human Resource Development from Webster University. And as a testament to her fortitude, in her fifties, she pursued and entered a new career as an elementary educator. She always dreamed of being a teacher but spent her early career in health care as a nurse and dental hygienist. Her example is proof that a dream deferred is not a dream denied. You see, we all have dreams that may be put on hold for various circumstances, but a delay never negates the possibility of eventual fulfillment. Susie's fortitude, grit, and resilience epitomizes the enduring nature of aspirations. Her life served as a testament that hopelessness is a temporary state, and that obstacles only become stumbling blocks when you allow them to prevent you from achieving your dream...but if you keep pursuing your dreams obstacles can quickly turn from stumbling blocks to stepping stones. Upon retirement from the Waynesville RVI School district Susie and her husband enjoyed cruising, vacationing with friends, celebrating holidays and milestones with family, and remaining active in Democratic party politics. They continued to support each other through all of life's ups and downs. In recent years as Susie faced increasing health challenges, the couple made the agonizing decision to depart from their home state of Missouri and relocate to South Carolina to be closer to their children. In South Carolina Susie quickly made friends and enjoyed shopping, trying new restaurants and spending quality time with family. She relished being an active and supportive aunt to her nieces and nephews. However, her grandsons remained her pride and joy until she drew her last breath...they are her legacy...and through higher education and hard work they will continue to pursue and achieve dreams that were inaccessible to their ancestors. While one branch (a critical and consequential branch) of the Campbell family tree has fallen, its roots run deep. Thanks to the example and impact of Susie, her close-knit family will remain strong until they are reunited. Susie leaves behind a family deeply rooted in the African American traditions of resilience, faith, storytelling and heritage. Her family's pride of heritage is on display in the African dress they proudly wear today, and it is their greatest desire that you will participate in keeping her spirit alive by engaging in storytelling about her life and its impact on you with others here today and in the days, months and years that follow. Funeral services were held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, July 25, 2025 in the Memorial Chapels and Crematory of Waynesville / St. Robert with Elder Mildred Young officiating. Serving as escorts were Randall McDonald, Jalen Campbell, Jurald Campbell, Tony Maybin, David Maybin, and Fearghal O’Reilly. Burial followed in the Missouri Veterans Cemetery of Waynesville, Missouri. Services were under the care and direction of Memorial Chapels and Crematory of Waynesville / St. Robert.

Susie Joyce Campbell

February 12, 1944 - July 15, 2025