Susan Stafford

Susan Howie Stafford, 69, of Harrisburg, passed away Sunday, August 16, 2026.

Susan was born March 16, 1957, in Charlotte to the late Franklin Howie and Betty Simonds Howie.

A lifelong resident of Harrisburg, Susan was deeply rooted in the community where she grew up, raised her family, built a career, and created a lifetime of memories. She never particularly sought the spotlight, but those who knew her well knew how deeply she cared. She was cautious and skeptical, especially when it came to the people she loved. She worried because she cared. She asked questions. She paid attention.

Above everything else was family. Susan was a mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and friend. To her four grandchildren, she was “Granny Sue.” She loved her children and grandchildren deeply, and much of that love was expressed not through grand declarations but through a lifetime of smaller acts: showing up, worrying, helping, making, remembering, giving and simply being there. For her children, that meant knowing there was always someone in their corner. She would stay awake until they were safely home, no matter how late. Even as they grew older, that instinct never really left her. When someone she loved needed her, she was there.

Susan brought that same care and attention to her career in the nonprofit world. Detail-oriented and devoted to the people and organizations she served, she built genuine relationships with donors, remembered the things that mattered to them, and worked tirelessly on their behalf. After retirement, she was especially proud of a tribute honoring her and the contributions she had made through her work.

Susan loved art and loved to make things. That creativity found its way into the celebrations she planned, the things she made by hand, and the details she added simply because they could make something more beautiful or more memorable. And while she rarely wanted to be the center of attention, her tastes could run in exactly the opposite direction. She loved things that were big, colorful and a little showy. She enjoyed creating and gathering in equal measure, bringing people together and making an occasion feel like an occasion.

Susan loved to read, and books were something she enjoyed sharing with others. She loved animals, too, and had a particular tenderness for those that needed looking after.

She had a sense of humor that belonged entirely to her. She could invent a “roses are red, violets are blue” poem on the spot, usually tailored perfectly to whatever was happening around her. She loved to laugh and appreciated people who could make her laugh. And those closest to her learned, for reasons that became something of a family refrain, that one should apparently always be on the lookout for bears.

Susan loved to travel. Some of her earliest experiences of adventure began in childhood, including a family trip to Florida with her siblings, traveling in the bed of a truck beneath a makeshift camper cover. Later, she ventured much farther from Harrisburg, traveling with friends to Thailand, Iceland and destinations throughout Europe. For someone so firmly rooted in one place, she remained wonderfully curious about the much larger world beyond it.

Susan’s life was built from those contrasts. She could be cautious and adventurous, reserved while loving things that were big and colorful, skeptical while remaining deeply curious. She cared for people in ways that were often practical rather than announced. She made things. She shared things. She worried. She laughed. She traveled. She gathered people together.

And through all of it, she loved in her own unmistakable way.

Susan was preceded in death by her father, Franklin Howie, and by two beloved companions, Mini and Snoop, who held a special place in her heart.

She is survived by her husband, Howard Stafford; her children, Daniel Stafford and his wife, Karen, and Lisa Brady and her husband, Greg; and her grandchildren, Owen Stafford, Kate Brady, Claire Brady and Molly Stafford. She is also survived by her mother, Betty Howie, and her siblings, Eric Howie, Steve Howie and Ann Howell.

May her memory be a blessing.

Susan's services will be held on Thursday, August 20, 2026, at Hartsell Funeral Home of Harrisburg. The family will receive friends from 11:00 am - 12:15 pm at the funeral home. The service in celebration of Susan's life will follow at 12:30 pm in the funeral home chapel, officiated by Chaplain Mark Osborn. Following the service, Susan will be laid to rest at Harrisburg Presbyterian Church Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Humane Society of Cabarrus County or The National Kidney Foundation.

Hartsell Funeral Home of Harrisburg is serving the Stafford family.