The Thiessen family has requested that the funeral not be live streamed. Thank you for your understanding.


Wednesday morning, September 22nd, 2021, following heart surgery, Susan Marie Thiessen slipped away while her husband, son, and daughter waited and prayed. She was born July 11, 1950, to Antone and Marjorie (Mickie) Carda of Elmdale, MT. Always a strong person, she battled health issues over the past several years, and in each case, her faith in God carried her through. After 71 years of life lived to the fullest, God called her home.
Susan attended Spring Lake Elementary School, followed by Lambert Junior and Senior High School, where she studied and enjoyed choir and cheer leading. In her junior year, she met and fell in love with Allen Thiessen. Soon after their wedding, the couple moved to Bozeman, MT, where Allen attended Montana State University before they returned to Lambert for a year to help on the family farm as brother-in-law Art Bouchard dealt with heart trouble. The following year, Allen and Sue returned to Churchill, MT, and work at Manhattan Machinery before returning permanently to Lambert to open a family business, Al’s Repair Shop. Around this time, Susan became the local “Avon Lady,” and could be seen buzzing around the community in her yellow VW Beetle. She won many awards for her work, and more importantly, met and befriended many people within the community. In 1976, she traded her yellow bug for a yellow school bus, eventually logging over a million miles in 38 years’ driving, with never a single accident. In the mid-1980s, she also helped at her sister Shari’s clothing store in Sidney. During this time, she began substitute teaching in Lambert, and was treasured for her caring work, and for the many treats she brought to her classes.
When son Tony and daughter Angie arrived, Susan’s life changed and adjusted. As their mother, she built character qualities into her children that include drive and grit and humor that sustain and encourage them even today. Susan set about building memories and family traditions that produced stability and health into her home.
In 1996, Susan and Allen became grandparents, and being “Nana” filled Susan with pride and joy. As the grandchildren grew and began to participate in athletics and other school events, everyone learned to know Susan’s remarkable whistle as she let her grandchildren know Nana was there supporting them. “Number One Sports Fan” is the term one grandchild used to describe her.
In 2001, Allen and Sue bought a cabin on McKenzie Bay, ND. For twenty-one years, the cabin and fishing provided much family joy and relaxation. There, Susan enjoyed living out her passion for fishing, for watching sunrises and sunsets over the water. The cabin at the lake formed a basis for creating family memories and for developing powerful friendships with everyone who visited there. Many photographs feature Susan with a wonderful grin on her face as she proudly holds a huge fish. Angie spoke of how her mom loved to fish and competed excitedly to catch the first fish of the day! She loved the challenge of life, and the joy of competition.
From 1986 to 2021, Susan and Allen traveled together to various REA and other cooperative conventions where she made numerous lifetime friends. The couple worked together, lived life together, laughed and cried together. Whether raising children, working to support the family, enjoying the water, or traveling, Allen and Susan’s inseparable relationship sustained them.
Within the area, Susan joined and served on Fox Lake Senior Citizens, McKenzie Bay Marine Club, the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives Girls Club, and her Bible Study Club. Additionally, she enjoyed scrapbooking, fishing, quilting, socializing, Christmas decorating, watching Hallmark movies, couponing, and baking. She was an avid gardener, and loved canning produce with her sister, Shari. She knew the importance of community, and her community knew and loved her.
Susan lived life to the fullest; in fact, she lived it larger than life. Though never tall in stature, to those who knew and loved her, she took on the persona of a mighty lioness who loved deeply and absolutely. Her presence made the air lighter in every room, and she brought joy into every situation she entered. Her laughter and voice cheered anyone within hearing, and no one who ever spoke with her could leave without being in some powerful way cheered in spirits because of her encouragement.
Susan was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by her husband, Allen; her son, Dr. Anthony Thiessen (Sidney); her daughter, Angela (Thiessen) Olson (Sidney); her sister, Shari (Carda) Whitney, her brother, Jim Carda, her grandchildren: Taylor Gliko, Madison Thiessen, Julen Idoate, Ainhoa Idoate, Riley Thiessen, Andoni Idoate, Cole Olson, and Alec Olson, and by many, many relatives, and friends.

Memorial Contribution