SUSAN LYNETTE CARLSON (WOOD)

JANUARY 15, 1963  -  JUNE 23, 2019

Susan Lynette Carlson was born January 15, 1963, to Dwight and Betty Carlson in Washington, DC, and was joined two years later by a brother, Greg. When Dwight finished medical school in 1964, the family moved to Southern California, soon settling in Torrance where Susan spent her childhood and youth.

Whip-smart and a quick learner, Susan excelled in school from the beginning and earned a number of awards over the years. She also flourished as a musician, playing the piano from an early age as well as the flute in her high school’s marching and concert bands. She earned a bachelor’s degree with honors in 1984 from Occidental College and, in 1999, an MDiv from Fuller Seminary.

Every dimension of Susan’s life was rooted in her deep faith. Raised in a solidly Christian home, she grew up attending Rolling Hills Covenant Church, went to camp at Alpine every year, became an active member of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in college, and spent a summer on a mission trip in Guatemala. She also volunteered with the youth ministry at Rolling Hills Covenant, where she became friends—and then a little more than friends—with a charismatic junior high pastor named John Wood.

As they began to seriously date, Susan was diagnosed with a form of leukemia many feared would be terminal. Yet the two were not daunted, and on February 18, 1985, Susan and John were married. Meanwhile, Susan’s father—despite resistance from doctors insisting that parents are rarely a bone marrow match for their children—got tested, and found that he was indeed a match for her. In March 1985, Susan received the bone marrow transplant from her dad that would save her life, and they went on to write a book together about their experience: When Life Isn’t Fair: Why We Suffer and How God Heals.

In the years that followed, Susan devotedly served alongside John as he pastored churches in Minnesota, Rosemead, and Los Angeles. In 1993 they adopted Charissa, a source of joy and delight to both Susan and John from the day she entered their lives.

A highly skilled editor, Susan began working at Fuller Seminary in 1994. She held several roles over the years in the Academic Programs Office, then went on to serve as an editor in Fuller’s communications department and School of Psychology. Over the years Susan was also an accomplished, widely appreciated editor for countless scholarly books and articles authored by faculty members and others both within and outside of Fuller. She was indeed the one, say all who worked with her, to tap for the keen editorial eye she merged with her theological expertise.

Susan suffered many losses over the years, including losing her beloved John to early-onset dementia in 2017, and seeing him deteriorate in the years leading up to his death. Yet she met that challenge and many others with stamina, a steadfast faith, and never an ounce of self-pity. She loved both John and Charissa deeply and gave herself to them without reservation.

Susan is survived by her daughter Charissa, brother Greg, and father Dwight. We will truly miss this honorable woman, but we rejoice that she and John are together again.