Susan Ireland Shea

1951 - 2023

Susan Ireland Shea
August 8, 1951 - June 22, 2023
Susan/Suzie/Susie/Suzi/Shea/Shea-Girl, she responded to all. Susan was born in Burlington, Vermont in 1951. She had two birthdays: August 4 and August 8, a large Irish Catholic family story. She celebrated both. Wouldn't you?
Susan grew up in Burlington with her mother, Lucy Carey Shea, her father, Doc William Ireland Shea, and her siblings: Billy, 1941; Lucy, 1946; Petie, 1952; Danny, 1954; Sarah, 1957; and Michael, 1961.
In 1974, Susan left Vermont with Lee Woodward, her partner in life at that time, and hitchhiked to the San Francisco Bay Area. No surprise there; the Bay Area was then the escape hatch for oh so many of us.
When Susan arrived in Marin County, she worked at Kentfield Rehab Hospital as a nursing assistant for 7 years. In 1979, Susan joined forces with Sonja Hanson. They remained life partners living in the same Sausalito neighborhood for 44 years, until Susan's death.
In 1982, Susan launched her goal of following her mother into a career in nursing. That meant providing nursing care to the best standards available to any and all patients under her care. She attended College of Marin where she received her Registered Nurse degree in 1984, followed by the UCSF School of Nursing where she received her Masters in Nursing as a Nurse Practioner in 1991. After retirement, Susan continued to volunteer in nursing right up to the end. Nursing, caring for others, was her life's passion.
Susan began her career in HIV work in 1991, as soon as she qualified as a Nurse Practioner. Over the next 25 years Susan worked in and helped lead HIV programs at UCSF including the Women's Specialty Clinic that she helped found in 1993, at San Francisco General's Ward 86 which was the original HIV speciality clinic in San Francisco, as a member of the San Francisco AIDS Care Council, and with the UCSF California State Prison Project. Susan was a warrior for her patients. Ask any of them, and step back if you question Susan's value in their lives or their value in hers.
Susan was an athelete, she started as a youngster in Vermont, skiing in the winter, and swimming in the summer. When she came West she expanded her physical activities to include daily running, marathons, kayaking, bicycling, backpacking, and she never stopped swimming.
Susan had a sense of humor that always got her through the most difficult times, and helped others get through theirs. She was a vociferous and eclectic reader which the Sausalito library can confirm. Music was integral to her life, and she came of age on Rythym and Blues. Put on Aretha Franklin and stand back, she was on the floor dancing and stayed there as long as Aretha sang. She was constantly curious about the world around her, and was passionate about her beekeeping, chickens and gardening. And, it would be remiss not to mention Susan's proclivity for swearing. She had no editor when it came to four letter words, not when working, not when dancing, not when swimming, not ever.
When Susan retired in 2015, she brought her warrior role home to her communities in Sausalito and in Marin City. She was always the go to person for friends with healthcare needs, and she volunteered with Marin City Community Development Corporation, San Francisco Coast Guard Auxillary, Performing Stars of Marin, Marin Vaccine Buddies, and Save Our City in Marin City.
Susan had no tolerance for anyone being treated less-than. She did not subscribe to any religious practice, but she did firmly believe and live by the principle that we are all created equal, and should be treated equally with respect and consideration. That was her modus operandi. God help you if you crossed that line in front of her.
Susan will be missed by oh so many of us that she cared for and cared for her. She was a truly remarkable human being in all the best meanings of those words. Her convictions are needed by all of us now more than ever.