Susan Houck was born in Decatur, Nebraska in the year 1948. Susan was born in a maternity home, not a hospital. She grew up in Decatur her whole life. She says that her childhood was “very much more simple than it is now.” She started school in Tekamah, and before finishing kindergarten she moved to Decatur. “I had simple classes and great teachers,” she said. Her mom was a teacher and Susan commented that luckily she didn’t have her. Overall she said she had a great childhood being the oldest of her siblings.

Susan enjoyed all of her high school activities. She had the opportunity to be a cheerleader and to play in the band, which she thought was pretty cool.

After high school, Susan started a family and worked with the postal system. She is very proud of her kids and she really enjoyed working with the postal system. When asked about her accomplishments she said, “I wouldn’t change anything that has gotten me this far.” She credited her parents for helping her become the person she is today by teaching Susan her values in life. She especially credited her father, who was her biggest influence throughout her life. Susan says that divorces and deaths have probably been big challenges that have impacted her life the most.

Her values in life are to be honest, be kind, be truthful, and treat everyone like they were any other person. Have good ethics and be trustworthy. She does not like to cross people and it is very hard for her to discipline.

When asking her what her daily hobbies are she replied, “I’m getting a little lazy.” We both laughed at that comment. She enjoys reading books, doing her crossword puzzles, and watching TV, of course. She also loves gardening. She wasn’t sure if that counted as a hobby, but she likes to do it. Susan enjoys golfing. She used to golf a lot but doesn’t very much anymore. She said, “golf was really challenging at first, but once you get the hang of it, it didn’t matter if you were good or bad, it was fun!”

Susan enjoys traveling with her husband Bill. Together they have gone to Mexico, Cancun, and many states. She’s been ziplining and parasailing. She said, “Those are all exciting, daring things!” She’s a thrill seeker, which I can relate to!

She said her greatest success in life was raising her kids and being the best mom she could be. She was also very proud of working with the postal system. To my understanding that was one thing she really enjoyed throughout her life. She said that her community has always been close and no matter what, if you needed something they would be there for you.

The advice she gave me was to study hard and said it’s okay if you don’t know what you want to do when you get out of school. It’s important to explore your options and try out different jobs. It was an honor interviewing Susan.