Suzie Morehead

HAWARDEN, IOWA- Suzie Morehead, of Harrisburg, South Dakota, formerly of Hawarden. passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, surrounded by her family. 

   Visitation with the family will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 8, 2020, with a Prayer Service at 7:00 p.m. at the Friendship Assembly of God Church in Hawarden, Iowa. The Funeral Service will be on Monday, March 9, 2020, at 10:30 a.m. also at Friendship Assembly of God Church with Pastor Richard Bennett and Pastor Fred Gums officiating, with interment to follow at Grace Hill Cemetery in Hawarden. A lunch will be served at the church after the graveside ceremony. The Porter Funeral Home in Hawarden is assisting the family. The family prefers memorials be directed to Youth for Christ in Hawarden.

   Suzanne Lynn Morehead was born on July 25, 1947, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Stanley and Wilma Vetos. Although her given name was Suzanne, she answered only to Suzie.  She grew up in Madison, South Dakota, and graduated from Madison High School in 1965.  On March 31, 1967, she married the love of her life, Larry Morehead, in Alcester, South Dakota at Nathaniel Lutheran Church.  They made their home on the family farm in Hawarden, Iowa where they raised their three children.

   Suzie was known for making mints and baking for holidays and family events, selling Watkins, doing crafts, collecting Terry Redlin pieces and a less well-known Beanie-Baby collection.  She also had a dry but playful sense of humor, even in trying moments, revealed with a faint smile and a twinkle in the brown eyes her husband found so beautiful.  She worked for many years at the Hillcrest Health Care Center and Hawarden Senior Center and valued the relationships she had with retired people from the area.  She also spent time researching her genealogy and collected many photographs of siblings, parents, and other ancestors.  So, she had many stories to tell about her immediate and extended family.  In her later days, she would often talk about her childhood, her siblings, and about Stanley taking them on fishing trips to different South Dakota lakes. 

   Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were her pride and joy.  She enjoyed playing games and spending time with them.  She also subscribed to newspapers from where they lived so she could collect newspaper clippings about them to share her joy with others.

   Thankful for sharing her life are her husband of 52 years, Larry of Hawarden; three children: Sander (Wendie) Morehead of Tea, South Dakota, Steve (Danette) Morehead of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Stacie (Luis) Rodriguez of Boyden, Iowa; eight grandchildren: Samantha, Stephanie, Zachary, Benjamin, Jaelyn, Brayden, Brielle, and Andy; three great-grandchildren: Wesley, Thatcher, and Clara; brother Kevin (Juanita) Vetos; sister Sandy (Mike) Kestner; sister-in-law Carolyn Marienau; and many friends and extended family.

   Suzie was preceded in death by her parents, her in-laws Grace and Keith Morehead, her brother-in-law Jim Marienau, sister-in-law Nancy Morehead, and her special friend Alice Rae Jones.