Susanna Ruth Harris Austin

Susanna Ruth Harris Austin died early Sunday morning, December 29 in Sarasota at the age of 67. Born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania in 1957 to parents Darrell and Betty Harris. She moved to Sarasota at age 10 when her father, a Presbyterian pastor accepted a call to a church there. She graduated from Sarasota High School in 1975 and in 1979 received a degree from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. In 2004 she became the first Media Specialist for the Sarasota Military Academy (SMA). She led study abroad trips to Italy, Greece, England, Ireland, and Scotland. Susanna was proud of her work with the Florida Association for Media in Education selecting books for the Florida Teens Read list for High School students.
Susanna was instrumental in setting up a school library for the students at Cornerstone Presbyterian High School in Belize, Central America. Susanna created a customized library computer system, and taught teachers how to use the system.
Upon retirement she became a member of the Sarasota Retired Educators Association (SREA), eventually becoming co-president.
She served as a worship leader and volunteer youth leader at Faith Presbyterian church and recently attended Grace Community Church of Lakewood Ranch. Susanna is survived by husband Keith Austin; two sons Richard and Darrell, to whom she was devoted; and her sister Lois (Jim) Hood; nephew James (Frida) Hood; niece Rebekah (Andrew) Krueger.
A celebration of life will be held at Grace Community Church, 4080 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. N at 10:00 AM on Saturday, January 11th with reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the SREA scholarship fund, which supports future educators. Donations may also be made to Covenant College. Please make checks payable to Sarasota Retired Educators Association, specifying the Scholarship Fund in Susanna's name. Checks can be mailed to SREA at P.O. Box 17121, Sarasota, FL 34276. Checks can be made out to Covenant College with the in-memory information included in the memo line. Check can be mailed to: Covenant College, 14049 Scenic Highway, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750.