Help Susie’s kids through the loss of their Mom

Hi, my name is Shyrene and this is something I never thought I’d have to do.

Thursday night I wake up to a call from my mom that her sister is dead and we have to go pick up my cousins from her house. No details.. No answers. Too many questions. My mom picks me up and says plans have changed, Marina and Michael are going to her house and confirms Aunt Susie is believed to be dead. Still dumbfounded and processing we all arrive at Mom’s.

There the story unfolds.. Aunt Susie was on her way home from Susie’s Cool Bean’s Nursery on Hwy 46 around 6pm. Marina and Michael were at home waiting for her. As she wasn’t arriving home, Marina starts calling her cell phone repeatedly. Finally, a gentleman answers and says she has been in a car wreck. Still with no information, Marina starts calling hospitals and gets confirmation her mom is dead at Central Florida Regional Hospital. At this point she reaches out to my mom and we all meet up at my mom’s house. The shock and grief is numbing and we still don’t know what has happened. The doctor hasn’t called us. The police haven’t notified us. All we know for sure is that Aunt Susie never made it home.

She died in a head on collision on highway 46 around 6pm. For those of you who know that road, it has been reduced to two lanes in some sections and is an absolute mess with construction. FHP is still investigating but around 11:40 pm on Thursday we find a news article online that describes the crash and we put two and two together. An impatient driver was trying to pass in a no passing zone. He gets in the opposing traffic lane and that driver over corrects and crashes head on into Aunt Susie’s car. The impatient driver doesn’t stop and leaves a wake of death behind him. My aunt and a young adult female passenger in the other car both die. At the time of this writing, I believe the other driver who was in critical condition is now dead, too. Three deaths.. Three deaths too many.

If you want to follow the story, you can here: Driver sought in double fatal hit-and-run

So why am I sharing this? Aside from the fact it seems to be slightly cathartic, my greatest concern is for my cousins. They’ve already experienced so much tragedy. They’re oldest brother committed suicide just before his 19th birthday. They’re dad died a few years ago.. it was just the three of them building a life and now it’s just them two. I can’t imagine how alone they’re feeling. No one loves you like your mom does.

Susie was an entrepreneur who loved plants and nature. She started and ran Susie’s Cool Bean’s nursery on 17-92 in DeBary. She would often post about her plants, but also about butterflies, seasonal events (she was planning an awesome pumpkin patch this year) and her many pets (some of whom roamed the nursery). Marina, her daughter, has been focused on going to art school and Michael, her son, had started helping with the nursery. She was the breadwinner of this trio and the glue.

This is going to be a difficult transition for Marina and Michael. Along, with learning to grieve and live without either of their parents, they have been thrust into self sufficiency. I am asking for everyone and anyone who can to help them financially. They need our love and our prayers but they also need financial help until they figure out how to provide for themselves. Any gift you give will help cover their expenses during this season and will be greatly appreciated. May God bless you!