Susan Garzon was born Susan Eilene Tharp in 1950 in Iowa City, IA to parents Hermann Sylvester and Rosemary Fleming Tharp and died at her home on May 28, 2023 after a long struggle with cancer.

She graduated from the University High School (U-High) in Iowa City, IA, earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Spanish from Iowa State University; a Masters in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) from the University of Northern Iowa; a Master of Arts in Anthropology and work in theoretical linguistics at the University of Iowa; and Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistic Anthropology from the University of Iowa.

She lived in Latin America for eight years where she taught English as a foreign language in Chile during the coup that overthrew of the Allende government; also teaching in Honduras and carrying out research for her masters in Chiapas, Mexico and her doctoral research in Guatemala.

Sue married Jan Michael in 1991 at Scattergood Friends School in Iowa before moving to Stillwater, Oklahoma. They were happily married for 32 years.

She taught Linguistics in Stillwater, OK where she co-authored The Life of Our Langage: Kaqchikel Maya Maintenance, Shift, and Revitalization, assisted tribes and individuals with language preservation work, and during her retirement wrote and published two novels: Reading the Knots and Unraveling the Threads.

Sue is survived by her husband: Jan Michael of Stillwater, OK; her siblings: Thomas Tharp of West Lafayette, IN; Ellen (Greg) Smith of Dixon, IL; Mary Ann (Eric) Hendrickson of Iowa City, IA; step-son James (Courtney) Prior of Kansas City, MO; and step-grandchildren Molly, Matilda, and Eamonn. Also surviving are her nephews Nate (Laura) Smith of North Andover, MA; Tyler (Lydia) Hendrickson of Iowa City, IA; Bryan Hendrickson of Cedar Falls, IA; and niece Emily Path of Lafayette, IN; grand-nephew and niece Simon and Renata; and cats Reggie, Fred, and Scarface Al Capone.

A memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers donations may be sent to the Guatemala Scholarship Program at Redwood Forest Friends Meeting (redwoodforestfriends.org) or Guatemala projects at Heifer Project International (heifer.org).