Susan Marie Hewitt

Susan Marie Hewitt (formerly Howell) began her life to the joy of her parents Elise Ann and Robert W. Hewitt and brother Steve and sister Stephanie on July 19th, 1968 in Bethesda, Maryland. She began her eternal life on January 27th, 2017 after a courageous battle with breast cancer. She leaves behind her precious daughter Rachel Howell. Her love for Christ and his intimate companionship and her trust in God's goodness and grace despite her lifelong battle with cancer sustained her journey. In a gratitude journal she kept are pages and pages of thanks for her life and for simple things like her beloved dog Nala, the budding flowers she loved so much and the friends and family she constantly prayed for as they walked their own journey's. Other pages in that journal revealed thanks for caring, compassionate Doctors, hummingbirds, the way toddlers walked and the God who does not slumber. She was not without grumbling. She hated no longer enjoying milk (a self-professed milk snob), the lymphedema that caused her legs and arms to swell and dirty dishes that piled up in the sink. She struggled with round after round of cancer and treatments and worked hard to accept the DNA markers that had set her life on this relentless course. To know her is to know that her home is filled with the wonderful books that kept her company. Classics like Tolkien and CS Lewis, poets like Donne and Yeats and volumes and volumes of historical work on the US Presidents (her favorites were Lincoln and Roosevelt) became voices she absorbed and listened to with a great hunger to learn. She loved Harry Potter, read every Sherlock Holmes novel (several times) and became a BBC lover further proving that she should have been a Brit. Her long time respect for Winston Churchill rounded out her library; The Last Lion fascinated her. She giggled once when she realized that she had a writers crush on David McCullough, the 70 year old Pulitzer Prize winner for John Adams. She sheepishly got his autograph once and talked about it for days. She was a botanist at heart. A walk with her revealed that she knew each tree and flower by name, further revealing her keen attention to the world around her. But her attention didn't end with the natural world. She often spoke of the things that could not be seen with the eyes: How someone wore their pride, how faith could deepen in suffering, how praise could change perspectives. She bristled at arrogance and stood her ground on injustice, speaking truth to power with humility and fervor. She knew what she knew with conviction and engaged foolishness with strength. She was working on memorizing the entire book of Ephesians in the Bible. She loved the swelling words there of life as a child of God. Dogs caused her to smile from ear to ear. She understood their way and was a patient friend to them. Her daily walks in the neighborhood with Nala found her getting acquainted with other dog owners. She laughed that she would remember the dogs name but have to ask several times what their people were called. She loved a good cup of hot cocoa, sipping on a ""not to peppery"" Chai, the most lush of pies and munching on her favorite pickles (though not all of those things at the same time!). She was an unashamed Rush fan (she saw them in concert 4 times), danced when she cooked and equally loved Diana Krall or Ella Fitzgerald. She could have lived in Stars Hollow with Rory and Lorelei, laughed hard during our family Psych marathons, and grew a sweet love of coloring with colored pencils to focus and rest. Though she was still working on her Bachelors when the cancer came back, she was a diligent student and determined to press on to complete her degree in Psychology. She was considering the possibility of working with Veterans, since her military upbringing seemed to attune her to the realities of their lives. Her determination to complete her degree didn't waiver as she looked ahead to a life well lived. She leaves behind a family who love her: Her older brother Steve Hewitt, his wife Christine Hewitt, nephews Samuel Hewitt, Justin Hewitt and wife Crystal Hewitt and son Gawain, Gavin Hewitt and wife Panaan Hewitt, and son Evan Hewitt and wife Madeleine. She lived with her sister Stephanie Hewitt and nephew Brennan Hewitt Link and nieces Ella Hewitt Link and Amelia Hewitt Link when she moved to Denver, CO. She continued to miss her FBC community in Tulsa, OK, while loving the adventure of her new life in the West; every camping trip, hike and mountain drive deepened her love more. We cannot imagine our lives without her and cannot imagine having her stay. We are deeply grateful that she no longer suffers and profoundly sad that we will never look into her beautiful, soulful eyes on this earth. We cling to the hope she had in Christ, the author and finisher of her faith. Rest for a while love, you earned it, and then dance! Heaven needs a little Rush. (Show them how well you air-drum!) In lieu of flowers we will be setting up a memorial fund for cancer patients. Please check back to this site for details.