Shannon Taylor (Damon)

Susan Shirley Smith died March 26, 2008. I wrote the following on facebook.

She was also known as: Olga de Volga

We were best friends. "Sisters". We met in 1966 in Richardson TX when we were 15. When I moved to AZ, she came out to live with me a few yrs later. After I moved to Reno, she moved to SF. She would motorcycle to Reno to hang with me. She loved my family & they loved her. When The Lewd played in Reno one time in the 1980's, they spent the nite at our house. She was very close to my mother as well and her death was hard on Olga as well as me. 
I have million of memories - so I won't be able to post them all- but believe me, they were memorable!
Olga was the most creative person I have ever known. She was a musician (classically trained on piano- I loved it when she played Mozart), dancer (ballet, modern with a degree in Dance Theatre from University of Hawaii), singer, song writer, artist (oils, chalk, etc), makeup artist, costume designer, seamstress (she made clothes for myself and others),vegetarian cook - the best mushroom sandwiches in the world!, interior designer- (my mother hired her to paint my bedroom psychedelic one summer when I was out of town visiting my father), photographer, stylist- (her Xmas tree one yr was outrageous - and used for the cover of her xmas cards that yr,)She was an actor- in small indie films, employed as a cocktail waitress, worked in a bakery- ( I worked with her) , as a motorcycle escort for a funeral home, a jello wrestler, we both waitressed in a Mexican restaurant in Dallas TX. 
She was the alpha female in our group- she introduced me to and explained the philosophy of: 
Jimi Hendrix - we saw him in 1967
Grateful Dead- she loved them when we were in high school
Punk Rock- we saw The Clash 
Reggae
Ballet- she gave me courage to study ballet
Gay Bars- we could play dress up & dance to great music- early 1970's
Vegetarian lifestyle
Meditation- we met Swami Satchidinanda (?) at a private residence) she loved Kirpal Singh. She meditated every day!
The list goes on and on- so many firsts for me.
I will close with- 
Her death experience was a small piece of who she was- and reading Carol's post...what came through was her incredible sense of humor. She loved life, she was a temperamental artist, she was inspiring, she was REAL. There was nothing fake- she was many things and she shared all of herself with us. 

Holly Hobby

Shannon,

A few hours ago I posted on the forum (aparently in response to your post about Susan Smith).  I was on the way home from work, multi-tasking at a stoplight, skimming through my email when I noticed something about RHS Memoriam. Recently my work load has been (and is) so heavy I haven't had time for much of anything else but realizing the memoriam was for Susan Smith grabbed my attention. I wondered if this could possibly be the same Susan Smith I remembered from sixth, seventh grade? At first I thought Susan attended Richardson Junior High. But I don't think it was the same one as I.  I think we first met as cheerleaders as I posted in the forum.  I lost track of Susan a long time ago. But tonight, with memory of her and those  dreadful cheerleader uniforms I wrote in effect,  "Even though Susan wasn't Jewish she wouldn't have voluntarily worn those uniforrms (the inference being)  even as a seventh grader Susan had more style. But that's not what I originally typed.  I originally typed "Even though Susan wasn't Jewish, she she'd have never voluntarily worn those uniforms b/c she was too creative."  But I deleted it b/c I didn't know that to be true (about her creativity). It was pure instinct; the assumption that Susan was creative. Your post confirmed it.

I'm so very sorry for your loss. I can only imagine how much it still hurts. Clearly Susan meant the world to you as I'm sure you did to her.  That said, if you don't mind my asking, is there anything special about February 11th, the day you posted?  It's more than curiosity, the reason I ask. My e-mail is hollyhobby100@gmail.com.   Just so you'll know, I lost track of Susan shortly after seventh grade but something about her stayed with me. Even now, I remember that smile. I clearly remember where she lived with her mother. Memories indelibly branded on my brain relative to Susan Smith. And all these years I wondered where she was. What her life was like. I couldn't imagine Susan as a grown up. In a world of monotone people, had Susan been a color, I bet she'd have been a beautiful fuschia corally pink infused with threads of robin blue and mint lavender. With lots of glitter.  Thank you for your sharing your facebook post, Shannon. Trust I'll pray for your confort and peace.

Marsha Brown (Johnson)

Susan's mom was one of my nursing instructors! I'm sorry to have read about Mrs. Smith's loss of her precious daughter. 

Pam Russell (Taylor)

I will always remember my friendship with Susan as a unique experience, one that I will always hold onto. She was surely one of a kind. I respected her and have fond memories of some of the quiet and also wild times we shared. I'm remembering some of those times at this moment and have a smile on my face and a sadness in my heart for her passing. We lost touch after high school and I had no idea (yet I am not at all surprised) by the many, many scenes she got involved in! I feel so envious of Shannon in that she spent so much quality time with Susan. Thanks for giving me an idea of how Susan's life progressed, Shannon.

David Frazier

I dated a Susan that lived on Hyde park off of belt line. Not sure this is the same Susan. Does anyone know if she lived on Hyde Park