Obituary of Susan Roche Gearhart

Susan Gearhart was born Susan Roche on August 2nd, 1948, in California. 

She passed away on August 19th, 2023, at the age of 75. She was surrounded by her children in Colorado Springs, Colorado, when she joined her husband James Warren Gearhart in heaven.

Susan was happy when she was in the outdoors surrounded by nature with the sun beaming on her face. She loved swimming in the surf at Santa Cruz. She explored the rugged mountains of the Sierra Nevada’s by horseback. She hiked the trails around Lake Tahoe to smell the wildflowers. Her connection with nature had a lifelong impact.

Susan was competitive by nature and grew up swimming races for a local swim team. As a horsewoman, she competed on 500-mile endurance rides. She sailed races in the San Francisco Bay. She was a rated tennis player in the USTA. Susan is mostly known for her running, competing in the Marine Corps Marathon, Tahoe Marathon and, most notably, the Boston Marathon.
  
She loved to make a difference. She began her professional career as a registered nurse. She worked for several years at Washington Township Hospital in Fremont, California. She ended her career as head nurse for the ICU/CCU. Susan then began a nursery business, specializing in indigenous plants that were drought resistant. She volunteered for the League of Woman Voters and Friends of the West Shore, working on environmental issues. She was an avid singer in the St. Joseph’s Church choir.

Susan is preceded by her husband, James W. Gearhart; her father, Maurice Roche & his wife, Marie; her mother, Lois Roche, and her brother, Michael Roche; and her son, John Gearhart.
She is remembered by her daughter, Dawn & Rich Berry and their two children Bailey & Allyson; her daughter, Christina & Richard Bennett and her daughters, Briana Harrop (her husband Jeremy and their daughters Everleigh & Peyton), Kayla Petrosky, & Megan Petrosky; her son, David & Jung Sylvester and their children, Morgan & Caitlin; her sister, Maureen Roche and her daughters, Diahann Viada (her wife Angie) & Lisa Viada (her children Ryan & Alex Micklos); her brother, Robert & Charlotte Roche and their daughter, Nicole; her brother, Richard & Denise Roche and his daughter, Christina; her sister-in-law, Beverly Roche; her son, Andrew & Lori Gearhart and their children, Drew (his wife Morgan Henry and their children Lucy, Margaret, and Francis) & Lindsey Gearhart (her husband Jack Moore and their daughter Mabel); her son, John Gearhart (deceased) and his children, Jessica Mosier (her husband R.D. and their sons Delton and Clayton) & Travis Gearhart (his wife Jen and their children Lincoln and Emberly); her daughter, Carolyn & Paul Nunley; and her sons, Justin Moxley, Greg Moxley, & Tyler Moxley; her daughter Joanna Gearhart D’Alfonso and her children Kevin Gruidl (his wife Shawna and their daughter Kinsley), Kristen Gyorffy (her husband Alex), Matteo D’Alfonso, Marcello D’Alfonso, & Marino D’Alfonso.

Please join us in a celebration of Susan Gearhart’s life on September 11th, 2023, at 10:00 am at Mission San Jose 43300 Mission Boulevard, Fremont, California. 

Lunch reception to follow at Olive Hyde Art Gallery, across the street 123 Washington Boulevard, Fremont, California.