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Susan Toenges Montfort (July 26, 1941 - November 6, 2023)
Susan passed away in Ashland, Oregon, from complications brought on by Alzheimer’s. At Webster Groves High School Susan excelled scholastically and tied with three other students as valedictorian. She was active with the Echo newspaper, Pep Club, choir, field hockey, and many other activities.
She attended Grinnell College, where she majored in English and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. She participated in many activities and in her senior year she was president of Mears Hall. She met her husband Bill Montfort in the choir, and they continued to sing in various choirs their entire lives. After graduating from Grinnell she earned a Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.
After she and Bill married in 1964, they joined the Peace Corps. Susan taught English at Starehe Boys’ Centre in Nairobe, Kenya, and their first child, Larissa, was born in Kenya. When their second child, Timothy, was in grade school, she began volunteering with Planned Parenthood.
When her children were in middle school, she was employed by Planned Parenthood as an educator and trainer; she also co-authored four books and contributed to thirteen other books published by Planned Parenthood. In 2000, Sue was the recipient of the “Mary Lee Tatum” award, given by the National Association of Planned Parenthood Leaders in Education to the person most exemplifying the qualities of an “Ideal Sexuality Educator.”
After she retired, Susan and Bill moved to Ashland to be closer to their adult children. She was active in the Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship until she developed Alzheimer’s. Throughout her adulthood she devoted much of her energy to improving the lives of other people, while enjoying a variety of activities including music, quilting, gardening, reading, hiking, and traveling with her husband. She was a caring wife, mother, and friend to many. She is survived by her husband Bill, daughter Larissa, and son Timothy.
(This obituary was published by Litwiller-Simonsen Funeral Home in Ashland, OR. There was no further information about a service or burial.)
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Susan Judell (Morgan)
When Susan and her parents moved to Webster I was assigned to be her "buddy" at Bristol grade school. I remember playing at her house, and one particular memory stands out - watching her mother cut Susan's blond straight hair. Susan sat on a kitchen stool, with a towel draped around her neck, and her mom literally used a bowl to shape the cute hairstyle! Many years later I attended her wedding at the Congregational Church. What a fulfilling life she had with a lasting impact on so many.