Susan Marshall Reck

1948 - 2022

Susan Marshall Reck was a software developer, wife, and mother, born September 7, 1948, to Allan Wilson Marshall and Virgilia Schooley Marshall of Franklin Park, Illinois. She grew up in Colorado and California along with sister Anita Hope Marshall and finished high school in Illinois when they returned to Arlington Heights, keeping up with her father's career as a United Airlines pilot and executive. A third-generation clarinetist and pianist, Susan played clarinet and alto sax in concert, marching, and jazz bands and twirled baton. She majored in Spanish at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, where she met her husband, Richard Alan Reck. After studying abroad her junior year at the University of Madrid in Spain, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970. They were married January 16, 1971. The couple moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she worked in data processing for the University of Michigan and a local company while her husband earned his MBA. They came to Western Springs, Illinois, and she joined international accounting firm Pannel Kerr Forster, as a programmer trainee and over the next decade ascended to national leadership of the firm's computing department as Manager of Information Technology. In 1980, Susan and her husband purchased a home in Hinsdale, Illinois, which they extensively expanded and updated. She loved the home, participated in its design and decorating, made curtains and shades, upholstered furniture, and made many more improvements. With the 1981 arrival of her first son, Daniel Marshall Reck, she retired from Pannel Kerr Forster to start her own software development consultancy. Three years later, her second son was born, Alan Charles Reck. She introduced both boys to software development from a young age, with each going on to earn computer science degrees and pursue successful careers in the field. During their childhoods, Susan was a volunteer Scout leader. The family adopted several parrots and parakeets over the years, with Susan carrying a fondness for pet birds from childhood. Susan continued to play piano through life, creating favorite family memories and inspiring her children to study music. She also took up tap dancing and painting, with a particular interest in creating oil, acrylic, and watercolor paintings that decorate their Hinsdale home. A favorite hangs above the mantle: a portrait of her maternal grandparents' homestead, which still stands in Terrill, Iowa. Susan passed peacefully in her sleep on April 4, 2022, at the age of 73. She is survived by her husband, sister, two sons and their wives, sister-in-law Pamela Lee Reck, and mother-in-law Mary Ellen "Ditty" Reck. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers donations to be made to the charity of your choice in Susan's honor. A family gathering will be held later in the year to remember Susan. Arrangements by Brian Powell Funeral Directors of Hinsdale. For information 630-703-9131 or www.powellfuneraldirectors.com