Susan E. Jones

1969 - 02

Susan Elizabeth (Williams) Jones, of Edgewood, passed away Monday, Feb. 6, 2017, of complications related to congenital heart disease. She was once again rallying from recent health issues, and passed away at home. It has been said that "the only people who did not like Susan were the ones who did not meet her," to the point that it was a refrain. Susan, who had a multitude of serious, and several times in her life, almost life-ending health crises due to complications from her congenital heart condition, refused to be defined by it. Born the day before Valentine's Day in 1969 and raised on Maple Avenue in Edgewood, she attended Edgewood schools, ultimately graduating from Woodland Hills/Swissvale in 1986. She went on to pursue an engineering degree at Penn State University Park. While at Penn State, she was drawn to a field that she had spent so much time involved with, and ultimately graduated in health policy and administration in 1991. While attending Penn State, she was vice president of student government, active in "Skull and Bones," and a founding sister of Gamma Delta Chapter of Delta Zeta Sorority. Following her graduation, she attended St. Margaret Hospital School of Nursing, and in 1994, Susan graduated to become a registered nurse. She spent many years giving back to the same community that had given her so much by being a pediatric nurse at Holy Name Hospital of New Jersey, and Pittsburgh Children's Hospital (in its prior location in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh). Ultimately, Susan went into medical management, and worked in a combination of this field and information technology, first with Coventry Healthcare, and ultimately (as acquired by) Aetna, where she continued to work as a health care quality manager project manager through her latest setback. Susan frequently stunned her physicians, both recent and those who had taken care of her for decades, with her resilience and will to live, as well as her ability to carry on. While Susan's sharp mind and wit, yet loving personality and unending hospitality were an asset anywhere, food shopping and preparation of meals for family gatherings, as well as those closest to her, were her greatest love. She was, on top of everything else, an amazing cook, whose greatest passion was expressing her love through a platter of delicious fare. Susan is survived by her loving and devoted husband of six years, Ronan Lamar Jones; dear sister, Jane L. Williams Knific, and her husband, Christopher; and their children, Jacqueline and Peter, of Howell, N.J.; sister-in-law, Joyce L. Hobbs, of Martinsburg, W.Va., and her sons, Christopher (Liz) and T. Bryce; Cynthia J. Gallinger, and her husband, Roy, of Sylva, N.C., and their children, Nathanial, Noah and Gwen; and Miann E. Jones, of Beckley, W.Va.
There will be no visitation. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017, at First Presbyterian Church of Edgewood.
In lieu of flowers, please send memorial donations to Dr. Bill Neches Heart Camp for Kids, or the Heart Institute Fund at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation. Arrangements by the THOMAS L. NIED FUNERAL HOME.