Susan Kay Bean

February 11, 1955 - December 6, 2019

Susan Kay Bean, 64, of Hampshire died peacefully Dec. 6, 2019 in her own home after a long fight with cancer. When Susan started college, she said she wanted to earn a living READING. After Susan graduated from college, she obtained her Master's Degree. She worked at two bookstores, an Editor at Charles Publishing Co. in Springfield, and completed her career as the Managing Editor of the Northern Illinois University Press. Aside from family, friends, and reading, music was a passion. She began singing in the church choir when she was in her teens and continued as long as she was able. Susan was able to manage her three brothers, checking on them weekly, making the rounds on Sunday after church. Fiercely independent, after spending most of her last year in the family home, being hospitalized and later a patient at a rehab hospital, she was able to return to her own home under the care of JourneyCare Hospice. Susan is survived by three brothers, David (Linda Yunker), Jonathan (Jeannie Stankiewicz), and Timothy; her mother, Joyce (Kraft) Bean; nieces and nephews, Matthew, Nicole, Samantha, Shantel, Candi Nicole, and Daniel; and great-nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her father, George Bean; and grandparents. A Memorial Service will be at 12 noon, Saturday, February 8, at First United Methodist Church, 207 Grove St., Hampshire with luncheon following in the church basement. Friends may visit prior to services from 11 AM to the Noon service.