Susan Willow Schroeder

Susan "Mama Willow" Schroeder took her last breath at dawn on Thanksgiving November 27, 2025. She was 73.

A native New Orleanian, she was a fierce, passionate and loving woman with a powerful embrace for all that came into her circle.

She volunteered as an advocate for abused women at the YWCA and initiated many groups to empower women and children including ARISE, the 1st Take Back the Night March, the Cap Program, Sunship Earth, The New Orleans Women's Music Collective and SISTERBEAT, a woman's drum and spoken word group.

She was presented the Volunteer of the Year award by the city of New Orleans and co-author a book of poetry entitled Invincible Spring.

She did hair from a very young age, graduated from beauty school and became known as the community hairdresser. She believed in the divinity of women, teaching many workshops on women's spirituality and she lived her life as an embodiment of Goddess.

She was creative in every medium and her paint brush was her magic wand.

She is preceded in death by her son David 'DJ Dave' Ayo, her sister Dianne Bordelon and mother Mary Anne Goodman.

She is survived by her loving partner of 34 years Karen 'Feather' Espeut, 3 brothers Patrick, John, and Paul Goodman and generations of children from other mothers too numerous to name who became Her family.

Her last message to all is: I AM LIGHT, LET IT BEGIN WITH ME