On Saturday, December 22, 2018 Dr. Susan L. Morrow, PhD, 76, died peacefully at her Salt Lake City home. Dr. Morrow, or Sue as most of us called her, co-founded the Utah Chapter of the Association for Women in Psychology (AWP) and left her mark on every individual and community she touched.

Sue with her spouse Donna

Utah AWP Co-Coordinator Dr. Denise E. Francis-Montaño shared the following about Sue’s legacy. “Sue helped me see myself, a Black woman, and others in a different light, from a non-deficit perspective. She was part of a sister circle who helped me understand and practice true inclusion and social justice. Sue walked the non-deficit approach talk; she modeled looking for and finding the strengths and abilities in me as a student. She took the time to instruct my academic writing, something no other faculty in my undergraduate years did. As an unwavering feminist multicultural faculty, practitioner, trainer, presenter, mentor, human; Sue collaborated with many to bring creative ways of having difficult dialogues to the table i.e., Pie and more Pie.”

Susan Lyons, Utah AWP Programming Coordinator and founding member shared the following  about Sue and her role in Utah AWP, “Until Sue and Donna moved to Salt Lake City, I had never heard of AWP. I was a feminist therapist without a community. AWP has made a positive  difference in my professional and personal life. We would not have an active AWP chapter in Utah if it had not been for Sue, and Donna. Sue contributed so much, as a mentor to many students and to the feminist, multicultural  and LGBT community. It is hard to believe that she is gone. She will be greatly missed.”

On Sunday, January 6th those who loved and learned from Sue gathered all over the country to raise a glass in her memory. Many shared photos of their toasts to Sue (see below) on social media.

Sue’s obituary can be found here. Text from her obituary is included below.

Dr. Susan L. Morrow, PhD, 76, died peacefully at her Salt Lake City home on Saturday, December 22. Sue was born November 18, 1942, to the late Helen and Howard Rodekohr and was elder sister to Steve and the late Chuck Rodekohr.
She married her spouse, Dr. Donna Hawxhurst, in 2014, after 38 years as life partners, collaborators, and activists in their community and beyond.

Sue was a lifelong advocate for equality, social change and cross-cultural understanding.  She was Professor Emerita of Educational Psychology from University of Utah, where she taught from 1993 to 2019, after receiving her Ph.D. from Arizona State University in 1992. She was well known in her field of Feminist Qualitative Research, Counseling Psychology and Social Justice and received many awards throughout her career.  She was an active member of both national and local Association for Women in Psychology (AWP) chapters and co-coordinated three national conferences.

Beyond her life as an influential educator, mentor,and groundbreaking scientist, she was a mother to Andrei and Christina.  She was Second Violin in the Tempe, Arizona Symphony Orchestra and could be heard playing her violin at home in duet with Donna at piano. She had a strong connection to the natural world and deep love for the Grand Canyon and Colorado River made her heart sing. Sue was known for her joie de vivre, amazing hugs, laugh, strength and kindness.

She is remembered by the many people whose lives she has touched, including her spouse, Donna; son, Andrei Hedstrom; daughter, Christina Hedstrom; brother, Steve Rodekohr; daughter-in-law, Sherry Hedstrom; heart daughter, Gabrielle Freedom; granddaughters, Raine Hedstrom and Michaela Freedom; as well as her sisters-in-law and seven nieces.