Obituary of Susan Elaine McCune
Susan Elaine McCune of Regina, SK, passed away on Monday, May 10, 2021. Susan was born in Souris, Manitoba on October 7, 1955.
She was predeceased by her father and mother Michael and Joyce Popowich; cherished in-laws Gordon and Edna McCune; as well as several aunts, uncles and cousins. She leaves to mourn her friend, partner, and spouse Brian Smith.
Susan is survived by her daughter Sarah (Vaughn) Konanz; grandchildren Every Gordon Konanz, Easton Edward Konanz and Kendall Mae Konanz of McLean; and her brother Bob Popowich and his partner Nancy Birken of Vancouver.
Susan was adopted by Michael and Joyce Popowich on February 29, 1956 when she was almost 5 months old and was raised in Shoal Lake, Manitoba. She attended Brandon University and moved to Regina in late 1974 where she continued her academic studies at the University of Regina.
She began working for Co-operators Life Insurance Company in December, 1975 and thoroughly enjoyed her 26 year career with that company as well as all the wonderful people who worked with her. She also worked at the City of Regina for almost three years and cherished her time there.
Susan’s passion for animal welfare was well known among her family, friends and associates. What started out as a simple “check mark” in the “do you want to volunteer” box on a Regina Humane Society direct mail campaign, led to a passion as a volunteer in the animal welfare movement. She was proud to be a member of the Boards of Directors of the Regina Humane Society, The Saskatoon Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, the Animal Welfare Foundation of Canada, The Canadian Association for Humane Trapping and the Saskatchewan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
In addition to animal welfare, Susan was the Newsletter Editor for Regina Food for Learning, a “search angel” for Can Adopt and a volunteer for Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness.
Susan left the Co-operators in September 2001 to pursue “her adventure in fun employment.” Her “adventure” took her traveling, learning, building, creating and into the world of professional organization.
She saw humor and joy in the worst disasters and thunder clouds in the greatest blessings. Her mantra was “Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass…it is about learning how to dance in the rain.”
Susan was truly grateful for everyone who came into her life in whatever capacity. She was eternally grateful for the employee who served her at a restaurant, the cashier at any store, the gas attendant, her friends, her business associates, her volunteer associates and her family. She had a sense of humor and a “can do” attitude that could never be extinguished by even the most skeptical and cruel. She simply donned her determined attitude and ploughed on. Those of us who truly loved her are astounded that death actually caught up to her.
Words used to describe Susan were loving, generous, caring, smart, brilliant, strong, determined, courageous, fearless, stubborn, brave, strong-willed, obstinate and honest just to name a few.
Susan would have it be known that she was no saint. She could be a most loyal friend and a tenacious foe. She made many mistakes in her life that taught her so much. She freely admitted those mistakes and always laughed at herself for making them.
It was Susan’s wish, that no funeral service be held.
It was also Susan’s wish that if you wanted to remember her in any way, that you sign your organ donor card, care deeply for others, share generously, help willingly-and most importantly - have fun!
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to a charity of your choice.
