Susan Marie Neyer

1939 - 2021

Susan Marie Neyer
July 21, 1939 - September 15, 2021
Resident of Walnut Creek, CA
Susan Marie Neyer passed away on September 15, 2021 after a three-year battle with cancer. She lived a full life and had an impact on many.
Susan was born on July 21, 1939 in Cincinnati, Ohio and was raised on Great Lakes Naval Base near Chicago where she attended Catholic parochial schools. She graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee in 1961 and taught primary school there for a year. From November 1962 through August 1965, Susan was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines, serving as a teacher trainer in a small village in the north. She received her M.S. in Urban Education from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee in 1967. She next worked in Hawaii for 18 months training future Peace Corps teachers and then spent 9 months travelling in Southeast Asia and the Pacific visiting volunteers she trained. Returning to Milwaukee in 1970, she taught preschool in a program for migrant workers. Susan learned Spanish in Mexico during the summers.
Susan moved to Orange County in southern California in 1971 and taught first grade Spanish bilingual classes there. Moving to Berkeley in 1977 she taught bilingual kindergarten and first grade in the Oakland Public Schools in the multi-cultural Fruitvale District for 18 years. She retired in 1995 & then mentored new teachers part-time for 2 years. During her summers off from teaching she back-packed in the Sierra & traveled to Mexico & South America.
In 1989 Susan moved to Walnut Creek CA to live with Pete Johnson who had been a Peace Corps volunteer in India. They took a six-month trip in 1990 through the Pacific, southeast Asia and Africa, visiting their Peace Corps sites as well as many Peace Corps countries where they connected with staff and volunteers. Susan and Pete were married in Yosemite in 1993 and re-visited almost every May. Over the years she turned the spartan house of single parent Pete into a home for a loving couple based on her fine eye for international handicrafts and landscaping with drought tolerant plants. Both were active members and officers in the local Northern California Peace Corps Association and the National Peace Corps Association from the 1980s on. Their roles with the national organization led to many trips to meetings across the country where they also took time to travel in the local area. They both took early retirement in the 1990s.
In retirement, Susan was a busy volunteer at the Bedford Art Gallery in Walnut Creek as docent, board member, secretary and president. She was a Master Gardener and active in her book club. She took care of herself as a member of the Curves fitness center and Weight Watchers. She made many friends from all these activities.
After a two-month Mediterranean trip by land from Portugal to Turkey in 1999, Susan and Pete returned to Europe for 8 more trips on their own in the new century. They continued travels in Canada, Mexico and Central America as well as in this country. Their final overseas trip together was to Chile and Argentina in November 2018 with a tour group.
Susan is survived by her husband Pete Johnson in Walnut Creek and a stepson Mike Johnson in San Leandro CA. She is also survived by brother Jerry Neyer and spouse Sally in Michigan and sister Marilyn Neyer Brady and spouse John in NY State. She was predeceased by parents Urban and Marie Neyer in Illinois and brother Jim Neyer in Wisconsin. She got much joy from her nieces and nephews, their spouses and their children.
Due to Covid, a memorial service to Celebrate Susan's Life will be held at a later date or virtually. Please contact smnrpj@astound.net if you wish to be informed. Thank you to all who supported Susan with phone calls, emails, cards, Zoom and in person visits and to those who brought food, flowers & plants. She reconnected with her Catholic upbringing during this time, both virtually (at St. Ignatius in SF) and with a local priest (at St. Mary's in WC). The support from Kaiser Walnut Creek and their home hospice program was much appreciated.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be made to the Northern California Peace Corps Association Grants program, which funds small overseas projects, via their website www.norcalpca.org and "donate" to "Grants."


View the online memorial for Susan Marie Neyer