Susan Gayle Malone

Susan Gayle Malone (73) went to be home with the Lord early Friday morning, February 13. She peacefully passed surrounded by loved ones in the Intensive Care Unit at St. Lukes South in Overland Park, KS after a battle spanning decades of Heart Disease and a myriad of other health concerns. She fought bravely all the way to the end and never once complained.

Susan was born at St. Lukes on the Country Club Plaza in the fall of 1952 on October 9 and grew up in Shawnee, Kansas under the tender care of her parents Joe and Carolyn Marshall and graduated high school from Shawnee Mission Northwest.

Susan excelled in writing and had a very creative gene, she came by it naturally because of her rich ancestral heritage in artistry and archeological anthropology that spans back to the Revolutionary War. Her Great Aunt, Fannie Belle Collins was an honorary inductee to the Blackfeet Tribe at Glacier National Park in August 1934, a member of Daughters of the American Revolution and the Arrowhead Mineral Club while her Grandfather Harry was a Sign maker, an Archeologist and Bow maker in Sedalia, MO. He and his wife Flossie had an extensive Arrowhead collection and Susan was very proud of her family history.

She was a daddy’s girl at heart and loved visiting the family farm in Windsor, MO as a young girl with her sister Peggy. Their father, Joe Marshall retired from General Motors after 37 years which reasons why Susan would have such a love for muscle cars. Suzie owned a 1970 Charger, an AMX and Dodge Demon and she even traveled Cross Country behind the wheel of a Big Rig.

Susan loved to travel and often remembered her fun in California and roadtrips to Wyoming and Tennessee. She especially loved the trip to Hawaii with Peggy and her parents when they was younger. In her sixties she would venture out to North Carolina and Georgia, but her last trip, would be this past year to The Black Hills of South Dakota. Accompanied by her Grandkids and immediate family, picking up trinkets and mementos along the way to remember it by.

A Social butterfly to say the least. She could get along with anyone at anytime, which made her loved by all, especially those she worked with. Some of her fondest memories were with the Maggie Jones crew, Costellos and Jaspers Italian Restaurant. As a trained and accomplished photographer she was employed by Tommy Austin Studios. Every morning she would meet her partner at preschools, Montessori's, elementary schools and college graduations. Where they would set up their temporary studio with lights, cameras and action. Her sweet personality with children made it easy for them to do their job and she would want to thank each of you for always loving her and being a true friend.

She fell in love with and married Tom Malone on September 24th 1983 and would’ve been married forty-three years this September. Together they bought a house in Prairie Village, Kansas, created a home and raised a family. She planted shade gardens and ferns of many different kinds across their property and together they enjoyed the elephant ears that became tradition, from when they were dating.

Tom collected rare heirloom tomato seeds and grew them in their back yard and saved the seeds from year to year. They held an annual spring tomato sale with hundreds of plants they raised in their basement together. Suzie, with her artistic ability would create yard signs to place throughout the city and they sold their plants out of their driveway. Which gave them a great opportunity to meet others in their community and generate income. Their Annual Heirloom tomato sale became a well known event, selling out many years.

Gardening and horticulture paled in comparison though, to her ability to wield a kitchen. Her love of cooking was inherited from her mother, where either of them knew how to whip up anything from scratch that was sure to delight.

She was schooled by professional chefs she worked with as a waitress, in the higher end restaurants. Some of her favorites were shrimp scampi or just a simple good ole’ fashioned hamburger, no cheese. Her Christmas cookies were carved of little reindeer, snowmen, jingle bells and various other holiday themed cut outs and carefully decorated, using homemade frosting with a personal touch.

She enjoyed snuggling up watching classic movies with Tom and some of her favorite directors were John Houston and Hitchcock. One of their favorite movies together was Lonesome Dove with the late great Robert Duval.

Susan, Tom and their son Matthew took many family trips to places like Pomona lake and the Niangua river where they passed on skills of camping and fishing to Matt. These were some of the most cherished memories that Suzie and Tom shared later in life.

Susan whole heartedly believed in the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and loved God with all her heart, all her soul and all her mind. This was her moral compass and she truly embodied the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22 which are Love, Joy, Peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. She was quick to forgive, but didn’t suffer a fool. It was her love for Jesus that enabled her to develop strong, genuine, personal relationships with people. The most of all was with her son, Matthew.

She had a deep devotion to him. Susan became a scout mom, taking part in the events and fundraisers within the Troop. She wrote for the school newspaper, organized school carnivals, was a PTA member and enrolled him into Bushidokan Martial Arts when he was eight years old. Which proved to be the second best thing she would’ve ever done for him. The first was sharing the Gospel and love of Jesus. At a young age, Matthew accepted Jesus Christ as his own personal Lord and savior, through her faithfulness.

Susan was no stranger to adversity either, on her 18th birthday she was stricken with Crohn's disease which almost took her life. Then at 49 she was diagnosed with a descending aortic aneurysm and was put in a medically induced coma for over forty days, beating the odds, she returned to work that following year. Almost ten years later, she went in for another major surgery to replace her aortic valve, where another aneurysm was discovered on her ascending aortic arch. Both of those were repaired and replaced. She was also afflicted by permanent AFIB, which required a pacemaker/defibrillator. If that wasn’t enough, she had severe crippling arthritis in her hands and neck and just a few years ago, she was diagnosed with yet another aneurysm.

Malnourished and sick, she never let on once that she was down for the count. She battled through it and always found the silver lining in all things. Which was usually accompanied by a smile and a joke, derived from her dry and hilarious sarcastic sense of humor. She never took herself too seriously and always had fun.

She was happiest with her son, Whether that was standing by him at his Eagle Scout Court of Honor, watching him teach Karate or traveling thousands of miles to sit in his corner at his full contact fights. Where she watched him go undefeated and even win a Kansas State Championship Title. She was loved dearly by the Martial Arts Community that included some of the greatest World Champions and fighters in history, because of her humble, Warrior Spirit.

Mrs. Malone was also a strong advocate for unborn children, though biblically sound organizations like PreBorn and Samaritan’s Purse that aligned with her morals. She had a very generous spirit and would give the shirt off her back for someone in need, even though it may have been a size extra small. Her charitable contributions were something she kept quiet and she wasn’t easily impressed by worldly possessions, fame or fortune and her meekness spoke volumes. She was “The real McCoy.”

Towards the last decade of her life she found the most joy in watching her son grow into his own, pursuing his own American dream by settling down and starting a family. She gained a daughter-in-law whom she loved dearly and two little grandchildren, who she adored profoundly. Her family remained faithful until the end and never left her side. She lived an honest life. A life full of faith, joy and laughs and will be missed continually in all things. Susan is preceded in death by Joe and Carolyn Marshall and survived by husband, Thomas Malone, son, Matthew Malone and sister, Peggy Williams. She leaves behind daughter-in-law, Ashley Malone and two beautiful granddaughters, Evelyn (Evie) Jo Malone (4yrs) and Eleanor (Ellie) Mae Malone (2yrs) that will continue to carry on her legacy.

A visitation will be held from 5:00 to 6:00pm, on March 1, 2026 at the Amos Family Funeral Home 10901 Johnson Dr., Shawnee, KS 66203, followed be a memorial service at 6:00pm. 

Susan’s wishes were to be cremated and then later interned at Memorial Park Cemetery at 3306 Greenridge Road., Sedalia, MO 65301 next to her Parents Joe and Carolyn Marshall, and her Ancestors Harry and Florence Collins from Sedalia, MO alongside Roy and Rowena from Windsor, MO. Private services will be determined by the family at a later date.

She would smile at a Memorial Contribution made to PreBorn or Samaritans Purse.

To send Flowers to the Family please send to Amos Family Funeral Home.