Susan Elizabeth (Gyles) Crowell – 73, East Mountain. After a
long and courageous battle with dementia, Susan has been freed to join
her parents, Ed and Beryl (Thomas) Gyles.
She will be missed by her devoted husband of 51 years,
Richie; loving sons, Derek (Natasha) and Shane (Cavell);
grandchildren, Samuel, Scarlet, Xavier; siblings, Chuck (Kath), Ken
(Lynn), Sharon Makarchuk, Tom (Allison); sister-in-law,
Janet.
Susan was born in Windsor, Ontario where she attended
elementary school, and later moved to Ajax with her family where she
was the 1967 Prom Queen and a 1968 graduate of Ajax High School. At
the age of 14 Susan began taking figure skating lessons out of the Tam
O’Shanter Club in Scarborough. She quickly advanced through her test
levels and at age 18 headed east to Nova Scotia where she would become
one of the province’s top coaches for over 30 years. After stops in
New Glasgow and Halifax, Susan arrived in Truro to coach with Truro
Figure Skating Club. She became well-known not only at Colchester
Legion Stadium, but in rinks around the province like those in
Brookfield, Tatamagouche and East Hants where she spent many long
hours coaching young skaters. Susan was recognized by the Canadian
Figure Skating Association in 1998 as national Coach of the
Year. She retired from professional coaching in 1999. Susan
also served as the chairperson for the Nova Scotia Section of the
CFSA, and volunteered during the 1990 World Figure Skating
Championships and 1998 Skate Canada in Halifax.
In addition to her coaching career, Susan also worked at
Martha Murray’s fabric store in the 70s and later opened her own
businesses, Truro Fabric Studio and Creative Sewing Machine. Susan was
a talented seamstress and made all types of clothes, Halloween
costumes and decorations over the years. She was known to have a green
thumb and could be found in her gardens on East Mountain
whenever the weather allowed. Susan was also a self-taught
interior painter and enjoyed renovating and redecorating, never afraid
to experiment with a new technique or colour.
Despite her unfortunate circumstances over the last few
years, Susan was always happy to have company. In addition to Richie
spending time with her daily, recent visits from her sons, her
siblings, skating pupils Stephanie, Julie and Kandace, and long-time
friend, Francine brought a smile to her face.
Susan’s family would like to thank the staff at Cedarstone
Enhanced Care for their compassion throughout her stay, and the
dedicated nurses of VON who provided home care prior. Also, a
heartfelt thanks to sister-in-law, Sonja and friend, Cathy who helped
Richie care for Susan at home as long as possible.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in
Susan’s memory to Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia or VON (Colchester
East Hants).
Arrangements have been entrusted to Mattatall –
Varner Funeral Home, 55 Young Street, Truro. Private messages of
condolence may be sent to the family by viewing Susan’s
obituary on-line and selecting “Send A Condolence” at:
www.mattatallvarnerfh.com
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Susan Elizabeth Gyles Crowell 1949 2022..
Death notice for the town of: Truro, Province: Nova Scotia