Susan M. Fitzpatrick

Susan M. (Stowell) Fitzpatrick, 79, of South Bend, passed away Friday, August 6, 2021, at Healthwin Specialized Care in South Bend, Indiana.

Susan was born May 15, 1942 in Mishawaka, Indiana to the late Richard “Dick” and Hope (Ellsasser) Stowell. She graduated from St. Joseph High School in 1960. Susan lived most of her life in the South Bend/Mishawaka area but resided in Detroit, Michigan; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Houston, Texas for brief periods in the 1960s and early 1970s. She married Michael Fitzpatrick of Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1963; they divorced in 1990.

After working as a legal secretary for South Bend law firm Roemer and Mintz, Susan worked as an administrative assistant for the Friends of the Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame for 28 years, from August 1983 until she retired in December 2011.

The oldest of seven children, Susan was known to engage in occasional mischief and hell-raising with her sisters, brothers, and friends in their youth. She loved antiques, art, interior design, and fashion. She was especially fond of visiting with her friends and attending book club meetings. She also enjoyed going to Notre Dame football games. Susan possessed exquisite taste in music, introducing her sons to Fleetwood Mac, Cat Stevens, Joan Baez, The Moody Blues, and many other artists by playing them on the family stereo. Throughout adulthood, Susan liked to relax and recharge by visiting a cottage on Lake Macatawa, Michigan. She was also fond of keeping a pet cat, and she had a genuine penchant for shopping and talking on the phone. Most of all, she adored spending time with the people in her life, and she embraced every opportunity to share lively conversation, uplifting humor, love, and inclusiveness with her extended family and dear friends.

Susan is survived by her two sons, Michael Fitzpatrick (married to Emily Odell Fitzpatrick), who resides in Sarasota, Florida and Madison, Wisconsin, and Timothy Fitzpatrick, who resides in Westfield, Indiana; three grandchildren, Colin, Kevin, and Meghan Fitzpatrick; and her six siblings, Sara Niedbalski (Arthur Niedbalski), Richard Stowell (Ellyn Stowell), Kathryn Stowell Loitz (Greg Loitz), John Stowell, Annie Meyer (Kevin Meyer), and Patricia Stowell (Patrick Dougherty).

Visitation will be from 10 am to 12 noon followed by a service honoring Susan’s life at 12 noon on Friday, August 13, at Goethals & Wells Funeral Home, 503 West 3rd Street, Mishawaka, IN 46544.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Alzheimer's & Dementia Services of Northern Indiana, Inc., 922 E. Colfax Ave, South Bend, IN 46617 or to Elara Caring, 2515 Bendix Drive, Suite #100, South Bend, IN 46628.