Susie McTier Rowe

1943 - 2024

Susie McTier Rowe

May 2, 1943 - October 15, 2024

Apex, North Carolina - Susie Alsobrook McTier Rowe, 81, of Apex, NC, died on October 15, 2024.

A memorial service will be held at Apex United Methodist Church on November 8 at 3 p.m.

Apex was Susie's home for the past 27 years. She was an active member of the Apex United Methodist Church where she served as a Stephen Minister, co-chair of the worship committee, a member of the Red Cross Committee, and as a staff member in the church nursery. She was also a member of the Resounding Grace handbell choir. When she wasn't at church, she could be found outside - planting annuals in her yard, tending her tomato bushes or walking. Her favorite place was the beach; she walked hundreds of miles in the sand at Fernandina Beach, Jekyll Island and Topsail Island in search of the perfect olive shell. She loved swimming, yoga, and spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren.

Susie was born in Columbus, Georgia on May 2, 1943 to Susie Alsobrook and William Ether McTier, joining two older brothers, William and Robert. Her family moved to Waycross, Georgia while she was young. She experienced the loss of her father at age 10 and was raised primarily by her mother. She played the piano from elementary through high school, graduated from Waycross High School in 1960 and earned a National Science Foundation Scholarship and a National Methodist Scholarship to study nursing at Emory University in Atlanta. While at Emory, she joined Kappa Delta sorority and met her future husband, Jack Rowe, on a blind date during her freshman year. She graduated from Emory with a BSN in 1965, married Jack 10 days after graduation, and moved with him to Providence, Rhode Island, where Jack was pursuing a Ph.D. in physics at Brown University.

While in Providence, Susie worked as a nurse at the VA Hospital, and had her first son, Mark, in 1968. The young family moved to Berkeley Heights, New Jersey in 1969, where her second son, Steve, was born in 1971 and her daughter, Elizabeth, was born in 1974. The family moved to Gainesville, Florida in 1983 where Susie returned to school, ultimately earning an MSN as a pediatric nurse practitioner from the University of Florida. She then worked for four years on the clinical medical faculty in the Department of Pediatrics at the UF College of Medicine, with a specialty in child abuse detection and prevention. She continued this focus for the rest of her nursing career in a variety of roles in Florida and New Jersey before moving to North Carolina in 1996, living in Cary and Apex. In North Carolina, Susie worked for the Center for Child and Family Health in Durham as a clinician and clinic manager and also was an adjunct faculty member at UNC College of Nursing. She retired from nursing in 2003 after dedicating her career to the health and protection of children, including testifying numerous times as an expert witness in criminal and civil courts.

Susie is survived by her three children - Mark Rowe of Apex, Steve Rowe of Oak Park, Illinois, and Elizabeth Rowe Smith of Salt Lake City; and five grandchildren - Declan Rowe, Eleanor Rowe Smiley, and Porter, Walden and Billie Smith. She is preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her brothers, and her granddaughter, Julia Rowe.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Susie's name to Apex United Methodist Church or the Alzheimer's Association.