Susann ‘Sue’ Bissner, 70

Sue was born Oct. 5, 1951, at St Luke Hospital in Pasadena, California, and grew up in the foothills of Altadena with the Angeles National Forest as her backyard. She would forever be a “Mountain Girl” and Western equestrian.

In about 1971 at age 20 she set out for Tooele, Utah, with her good friend Mary Skinner and set up a clothing store there. She remained in the Salt Lake region working in banking, transportation and other endeavors she enjoyed and amassed a broad base of lifelong friends while enjoying skiing, horseback riding and hiking in the mountains.

Sometime about 1986 the wanderlust struck again, and Sue relocated to Kalispell to be near her little sister Teri who, unbeknownst, was preparing to head back to Altadena after over 10 years around the Great Northwest and Kalispell. Undeterred, she bought a small ranch property and went to work as an office manager for a magazine distribution company owned and operated by Lee & Joan Johnson. Eventually Sue semi-retired and went to work for herself as the Happy Housekeeper; eventually she received her certified nurse assistant (CNA) license to care-take elderly people in their own homes. Sue volunteered at the Lutheran home, and she was active in her community and church of Science of the Mind.

Sometime in 1994 Sue’s mom Lucille relocated to Kalispell and they resided together, caring for one another in nearly every way. In June 2005 Sue notified her siblings it was “Mom’s time now” and all gathered for a wonderful hospice lasting but eight hours.

Sue continued her work and friendships throughout the Flathead/Kalispell region until diagnosed with COPD about 2016. With that she maintained her independence until 2020 when she sold her home and relocated to Teri and Justin Hidden Highlands horse, dog and cattle operation outside Santa Maria, California, where she passed away outdoors in the late afternoon on Feb. 16, 2022.

Of all her “homes,” she loved Kalispell the most and her great friend Roxy Iverson who did so much for Sue.

An often-irascible character full of love for all she held close, she will be sorely missed. Never bashful, she sang and performed beautifully as lead in her high school production of “The Music Man,” in the summer months of the ‘60s she performed mean covers of Janice Joplin and Grace Slick solos, belting it out late nights in bars on the Balboa Peninsula as early as age 16 to standing room only crowds while spending days carving up 6-foot shore breaks on a belly board at “The Wedge” and other venues when the surf was up and getting around having copped the keys for dad’s 1957 Ford Thunderbird convertible, always with the top down — A true Pacific Coast Highway water baby.

She is survived by her sisters, Carol McNamara of Port Hueneme, California, and Teresa Garcin (Justin) of Santa Maria, California, brother Jamie Bissner (Colleen) of Altadena, California, and niece Tracy Danno of Bozeman.

There will be a celebration of Sue’s life on one of her favorite occasions, Saint Paddy Day, March 17, at the Hidden Highlands in Central Coast, California. Please contact Teri now if you plan to attend, texting 805-868-5592; or email garcinhorsencattle@yahoo.com