Obituaries

Suzanne Teasdale Zorn, 96, passed away peacefully in her sleep on March 1, 2024, with her husband of 62 years, Theodore, at her side at The Gatesworth / McKnight Place residences in St. Louis, Missouri. She enjoyed many visits from her extended family and friends in the weeks prior to her passing. She was loved.

Suzie was born on August 11, 1927, at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, the eldest child of Kenneth and Anna (Fulbright) Teasdale. She attended John Burroughs School where she finished after her Junior year to attend the prestigious, experimental, art school, Black Mountain College, in North Carolina for several years. After Black Mountain, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder. Upon graduation she took a secretarial job with the Central Intelligence Agency, mainly because she wanted to live in Europe and the CIA placed her in Rome, Italy. There she met Oscar Budel, who became her first husband, and moved to Seattle, Washington where her eldest son, Christopher, was born in December, 1958. The marriage didn’t last, however, and Suzie returned to St. Louis with Chris to attend graduate school at Washington University, studying for her PhD in English. There she met Theodore Zorn who was also pursuing a doctorate in English. Suzie and Ted were married on August 12, 1961, and her second son Andrew was born in October, 1962. Ted then received a teaching offer at Georgetown University and the young family moved to Washington D.C., where they lived for several years; their third son, William, was born there in January, 1966. A job offer for Ted led them to the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities in 1967. Suzie and Ted spent the next 33 years in Minneapolis. Aside from raising her family, Suzie also worked for the Peace Corps, and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and later for the Minnesota State Government in St. Paul.

Her life in Minnesota was enriched with long-time friendships with fellow University professors, doctors, and administrators. Suzie and Ted were good cooks and their Irving Avenue home was well known for dinner parties where the drinks and discussions of literature and politics would last into the wee hours of weekend mornings. Summers included trips to Cedar Lake, and frequent picnics were held at Secret Beach, a favorite spot. Suzie loved to travel and memorable family vacation road-trips from that time include a tour of the Badlands and Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, visits to St. Louis, and a longer trip through the Southwest U.S. after a regular family reunion of the Fulbright clan in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Suzie and Ted also enjoyed traveling together in Italy, England, Germany and other European destinations.

Suzie was a life-long lover and supporter of the arts. She was a member and frequent attendee of the Walker Art Center, the Guthrie Theatre, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Red Eye Theater, and was a board member of the now defunct Intermedia Arts Minnesota. Upon their return to St. Louis in 2001 Suzie and Ted became regular attendees at The Repertory Theatre, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Union Avenue Opera. They also frequented the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Contemporary Art Museum, City Museum, Citygarden and various other galleries and museums in and around town.

Family was paramount to Suzie. She spent summers of her youth, with her younger brother Ken, at her Grandmother Fulbright’s home in Fayetteville, where she developed strong, lifelong bonds with many cousins. As adults, they established annual reunions in Fayetteville through the 1970s. Starting in 1986, the extended Fulbright/Teasdale family began an annual Thanksgiving tradition of meeting on the beaches of Captiva Island, Florida. This tradition lasted for decades (and continues today for many of the extended clan), filling up homes with younger generations of second and third cousins for the big meal, which tickled Suzie to no end.

Suzie was a champion of liberal and progressive causes and was well known for speaking her mind (in all matters).

Suzie is survived by her husband, Theodore, and her three sons and their spouses, Christopher and Sandra (Fjerkenstad) Budel, Andrew and Amy (Mizrahi) Zorn, William and Stephanie (Opp) Zorn, and four grandchildren, Nicolette, Jocelyn, Quentin, and Theodore. She will be missed.

A memorial service and burial will be held at Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum on April 6, 2024. at noon at the Lakeside Columbarium. All are welcome. After the service family and friends are invited to an informal celebration of life at the Boathouse in Forest Park from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to make a donation to your favorite non-profit arts organization(s) or progressive cause organization(s).