Susan Akridge

The totally sensational
Susan Akridge, departed
for her great gig in the sky
on July 26, 2025. She
leaves behind a trail of
glitter, sunshine, and joy.
Susan's story started on
Oct. 7, 1968, in Utica, N.Y.
She moved with her fami-
ly to Arkansas before set-
tling in Rome, Ga. Her cre-
ative talent was evident as
soon as she was born. Su-
san was an incredible bal-
let dancer, and she prac-
ticed her piano religious-
ly. When she wasn't tick-
ling the keys, Susan
played her trumpet with
an energy and verve only
she could manage. Her tal-
ent also extended into ath-
letics, and she loved prac-
ticing basketball with her
father. In addition, Susan
was a card shark and
board game enthusiast.
She spoke so fondly about
playing gin with her par-
ents and grandparents,
and she loved zooming
around the Monopoly
board with her sister. But
her main passion was al-
ways music. Susan was al-
ways dedicated to her high
school marching band.
Her infectious optimism
and leadership made her
the perfect band captain
during her senior year.
Susan was also an academ-
ic genius, with a proclivity
for math. Susan graduat-
ed, with honors, from
West Rome High School in
1987. She went to West
Georgia College, where
she met her partner in
crime, love, and life, Mark
Akridge. Together, they
played the trumpet for the
West Georgia Marching
Braves. During college,
she continued fostering
her creative talent by
working incredibly hard
to earn a bachelor in mu-
sic education, with a mi-
nor in math. When she
wasn't studying or practic-
ing her instruments, Su-
san was committed to her
sorority, Chi Omega,
whose motto encapsulates
Susan's spirit: "To be
womanly always; to be dis-
couraged never." In addi-
tion, she was also involved
in the musical sorority,
Sigma Alpha Iota. Some-
how, she still found time
to be the life of the party.
Her friends, band mates,
and sorority sisters could
always count on her quick
wit and hilarious high en-
ergy. Susan certainly
knew how to command a
room. After graduating
summa cum laude, Susan
joined Mark at the altar on
Nov. 21, 1992, and they offi-
cially started their life to-
gether. The first stop on
their journey was
Gainesville, Ga., where
Susan was the band direc-
tor for Gainesville High
School. After one year, her
servant's heart was called
to become a nurse. Susan
became a nurse at North-
east Georgia Medical Cen-
ter's oncology unit. Her
comforting affect and em-
pathetic spirit brought so-
lace, relief, and support to
so many patients. Howev-
er, Susan felt led to let her
creative genius fly, so she
became the music teacher
at Big A Elementary
School in Toccoa, Ga., in
2000. Her endless love, self-
lessness, and energy made
her an instant favorite.
During her 15 years at Big
A, she gave of herself en-
tirely to create a space for
every student. Susan was
always willing to try new
things in her classroom,
like recorder karate and
square dancing. Susan
grew her career by earn-
ing her master's in educa-
tion in 2009. In 2014, she
transferred to Stephens
County High School. Here,
she served as the drama
teacher and chorus direc-
tor for two years before be-
coming the business and
education teacher for one
additional year. Susan
then returned to teaching
her beloved elementary
students at Liberty Ele-
mentary School. Then, in
2024, she made her final
transition to Stephens
County Middle School,
where she served as the
chorus and drama teacher.
In all of these positions,
Susan's greatest feats were
creating unequivocally
transcendent masterpieces
of stage productions, in-
cluding Seussical the Mu-
sical, Legally Blonde: The
Musical, and High School
Musical. She also loved
comedic one-acts, and ex-
pertly directed the casts of
Check Please and Hard
Candy. It was amazing
what Susan could accom-
plish with a small budget
and an endless supply of
elbow grease. Her produc-
tions were a family and
community affair. It
seemed like everyone
pitched in to donate mate-
rial, paint sets, memorize
lines, perform, and attend
shows. However, no one
was more involved than
her husband Mark. She
frequently talked about
how her productions
wouldn't have been possi-
ble without his love and
support. Through her
shows, Susan taught re-
spect, cultivated creativi-
ty, and allowed space for
everyone's freak flag to fly.
She was just as talented on
stage as off. Through the
Stephens County Commu-
nity Theater, she starred
as the magnificent show-
girl "Dolly Tate", in Annie
Get Your Gun. She was
also "Marty Maraschino"
in Grease, a character just
as dedicated to love as Su-
san. However, whether on-
stage, behind the scenes,
or in the classroom, Su-
san's magnum opus were
her children. Mark and
Susan happily welcomed
Morgan Ann on Jan. 16,
1995. From the beginning,
it was evident that Morgan
inherited her mother's
fighting spirit, leadership,
and high-achieving per-
sonality. Katie came along
on Aug. 22, 1997. She is
proud to carry on Susan's
legacy of humor and confi-
dence. To both her daugh-
ters, she gave the gift of
her unconditional love,
unwavering support, mu-
sical talent, and steadfast
spirit. Susan will also be
deeply missed by her par-
ents Richard and Cookie
Wozniak of Rome, Ga., her
sister Mary Harper (An-
drew), nieces; Hannah
Kumpf and Olivia Harper,
as well as numerous
cousins, in-laws, nieces,
nephews, and friends. Su-
san was a totally singular
individual and a talented
phenomenon who was
larger than life. Her cre-
ative genius inspired
countless people. She was
the brightest spot in a
dark world.
To celebrate Susan's fi-
nal bow, in lieu of flowers,
please make donations to
Stephens County Middle
School's Choral Program.
Money can be sent to
SCMS, 1315 Rose Lane,
Toccoa, Georgia 30577,
and checks should be
made payable to Stephens
County Middle School in
memory of Susan Akridge.
In honor of Susan, be sure
to get some sun, tell a joke,
enunciate your words, do
hard things, love big, be
fearless, play a game with
your family, be bold and
loud, don't take yourself
too seriously and lighten
up, remember they're just
people and we're all living
life for the first time, for-
give easily, sing at the top
of your lungs, dance like
no one is watching, and al-
ways check your key sig-
nature.
Visitation was held
Wednesday, July 30, 2025,
at Whitlock Mortuary in
Toccoa, Georgia from 5-7
p.m. A celebration of life
will be held on Thursday,
July 31, 2025, at the Tuga-
loo Center for the Perform-
ing Arts at Stephens Coun-
ty High School in Toccoa,
Georgia at 4 p.m. Wear
your brightest colors and
sequins.
Please keep the family
in your thoughts and
prayers and sign the on-
line guestbook at
www.whitlockmortu-
ary.net.
Whitlock Mortuary, Fu-
nerals and Cremations is
honored to be serving the
family of Mrs. Susan Ann
Wozniak Akridge.