Susan McShane Grygiel
Susan McShane Grygiel, 79, of Pine Bluff, Ark., passed away on November 17, 2021. Susan was a most caring and devoted mother, grandmother, wife, and friend to so many people. She truly loved everyone she met and saw the best in each one.
Susan was born on December 12, 1941, in Fort Smith, Ark., the second of two children born to Gerald Urban McShane and Mildred Sipes McShane. She graduated from Fort Smith High School in 1959 and loved growing up in Fort Smith with her older sister Francy and their loving parents. The stories she would tell of her childhood were amazing. In later life, her many class reunions were some of her most special times.
After high school, Susan attended the University of Arkansas, where she was a member of Pi Beta Phi. She loved her college years, and graduated in 1962 with a degree in Education.
After graduation, Susan moved to Pine Bluff and taught math for several years before retiring to care for her children. She loved her time teaching and her children were often touched by comments of her former students who universally spoke of her in such high regard.
Susan loved to read, and in 1980 purchased Pickwick Bookstore in Pine Bluff, which she successfully operated until she retired in 2005. She worked very long days and nights at the bookstore while always ensuring that it didn’t compromise her involvement in the lives of her children. Pickwick Bookstore was a Pine Bluff Treasure where all were made to feel like family. As with her time teaching, she touched many lives and actively made her hometown a welcoming and caring place to live.
In 1989, Susan married Walter Grygiel to whom she was married until his death on December 8, 2018. They enjoyed sailboating on Lake Ouachita, traveling, and generally spending time together at their home and with family. She was very proud of her Irish heritage and Saint Patrick’s Day was a special day in her home. She loved the trip she took to Ireland with Walter, during which she was able to meet many members of the McShane family.
As her sons recalled, “her greatest love and passion were her children. She made such great sacrifices to provide us with a wonderful childhood. She always found time to support us in all of our activities. She was the ultimate classroom mom, Cub Scout pack leader, and little league team mom for each of us. She was always there to provide help with school work and for advice and support dealing with any problems or difficulties we were faced with, which was a full time job in and of itself. She was always there for us and we were truly blessed to have a most special and wonderful mother. She loved Devil’s Den State Park and we spent many summer weekends there filled with hiking, cave exploration, softball, board games (Mille Borne aka “coup-fourre”), Smores, and nighttime bat excursions. It will always be a very special place for each of us.”
Growing up, Shane, David, and Patrick’s friends adored Susan and recognized her sincere interest in each of them. Her three sons have rarely spoken to a friend over the past forty years where the conversation didn’t lead to the friend asking how their Mom was doing while interjecting that she was also so nice to them and what a welcoming home they had.
In her later years, Susan worked in the office of her church, Grace Episcopal Church. She loved her church and was beloved by all of her many friends who were members of Grace Church during her 57 years of membership there.
Susan was preceded in death by her parents, and husband, Walter. She is survived by her three sons, Shane Bridgforth (Cherie) and David Bridgforth (Kim) of Pine Bluff and Patrick Bridgforth (Lauren) of Rogers; and her sister, Francy McShane Mantell (Marty) of Albany, N.Y. She is also survived by her eight grandchildren, John David Bridgforth (Morgan) of Little Rock; Elizabeth “Lizzie” Hartz (Whitt) of Stuttgart; Ben Bridgforth of Nashville, Tenn.; Ethan Bridgforth, Kathleen Bridgforth and Audrey Bridgforth, all of Fayetteville; and Cooper Mayhall and Ella Grace Mayhall of Rogers; and her great-grandson, Oliver Philip Bridgforth of Little Rock. Other survivors include her nephews, Bowden and Steven Wise; her daughter-inlaw, Mary Thompson Collins; and her many McShane cousins who she loved so dearly.
Her funeral service will be held Saturday, November 27, 2021, 10:30 a.m., at Grace Episcopal Church with the Rev. Stephanie Fox officiating. Interment will be in the Grace Church Memorial Garden. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall. Arrangements are by Fuller Hale-South Funeral Services.
Memorials may be made to Grace Episcopal Church, 4101 S. Hazel Street, Pine Bluff, Ark., 71603; or Neighbor To Neighbor, 1419 S. Pine Street, Pine Bluff, Ark., 71601. For online condolences, please visit FullerFunerals.com.