Carol Sue Reader

Judge Carol Sue Reader Lenahan passed away on Thursday, February 15, 2024 at Trinity Health Hospital in Ann Arbor. Carol Sue was born in Howell on April 26, 1947 to Robert James Reader and Mary Viola Dyer Reader. She spent her school days on her parents' dairy farm in Oak Grove with her older sister, Sharon. Carol Sue loved riding her horse and had a large black hare that would follow her like a puppy. As a tomboy on the farm, she was fearless. Idealistic, smart and funny, she accomplished so many things in her 77 years of life, from representing Livingston County in the Miss Michigan pageant to pioneering new ways to modernize the justice system. The odds were against her but she worked tirelessly. As a young woman, many told her to dial back her ambitions but she found mentors and allies in the legal community that encouraged her.
Carol Sue attended the University of Michigan but dropped out after one semester and had a daughter, Heather, while married to Ron Jacobs, an artist. Then her parents lost their farm and moved into an abandoned one room schoolhouse. Carol went to work on the line at the Utilex plant in Fowlerville. It was there she met her second husband Charles (Chuck) Youngs. They married and had a son, Eric.
Carol Sue first volunteered then worked full time while going to night school at Washtenaw Community College, receiving her Associate's degree and beginning her legal career in the Prosecutor's Office. Her children fondly remember her writing papers with an old Underwood manual typewriter in a makeshift office off the garage at their tiny one-bedroom rental home on Marr Road. Carol Sue was always fixing things, around the house and at work. It was during those years that she saw the plight of battered women and, with some dear friends, started a helpline and then formed LACASA. There were some nasty late night phone calls from angry husbands in those days but Carol Sue and her friends were undaunted.
Carol worked for many years as a paralegal in the office of Thomas Kizer. When her eldest child started high school, Carol Sue went back to college at Michigan State University to get her Bachelor's degree in criminal science. During her third marriage, to State Police Det. Sgt. Michael "Mike" Lenahan, she worked at the firm Reck, Reck and Irwin, again attending night classes at Cooley Law School to earn her Juris Doctor and finally fulfilling her dream of becoming an attorney. She was a partner in law with Gary Banks and Pat Gladney, working as a public defender. She saw all parts of the justice system and built a wholistic view of the legal field, bringing perspective and a calm demeanor to her clients and colleagues. She carried this view to her work on the bench, as a district court judge, and to her role on advisory boards and finally to her term as county commissioner. Always private, she always brought warmth and humor to friends and family. Stubborn, creative, and smart, she could do just about anything she set her mind to. We will miss her creativity, her unwavering commitment to community and fairness and her love of animals.
Judge Reader is survived by her husband, John Michael "Mike" Lenahan; her daughter, Heather Youngs; her son, Eric Youngs; her stepson, Sean Lenahan and stepdaughter, Brigid Hirth and their children; grandson, Mackenzie Morris and his wife Maricella Rodriguez. She is also survived by her sister, Sharon (Robert "Bob") Cunningham, her nephew Robert "Bob" Cunningham, and her niece, Stephanie Ruppe. Carol's great-grandson, Jaxon Antonio Morris, whom she sadly did not get the opportunity to meet, was born in October 2023.
A celebration of her life will take place Saturday, March 9, 2024 from 2PM to 6PM at Watkins Brothers Funeral Homes, MacDonald Chapel, 315 N. Michigan Ave, Howell.
In lieu of flowers, Carol would have liked donations sent to the LACASA or the Humane Society. You can read more about Judge Reader's prolific professional life as described by Maria Stuart at https://thelivingstonpost.com/community-mourning-loss-of-carol-sue-reader/