Susan Ruth Shaha

Susan Ruth (Reynolds) Shaha was the quintessential Texas woman. She was born in Abilene on
August 30, 1946, raised in Odessa, and attended Permian High School (class of ’64), Texas Tech
University for her bachelor's (’68), and later Tarleton State University for her master’s (‘80). She
taught in Lubbock, Slaton, Ropesville, and Woolfforth before moving to Burleson where she
lived the rest of her life.

But what made Susan who she was was so much more than where she worked and lived. It was
her fire. Her humor. Her strength. She defined life on her terms. She lived it fully, with passion,
very little fear, and lots and lots of laughter. She made lifelong friends wherever she went and
was a role model and mentor for so many.

When she was little, she never quite fit the typical “girl” stereotype. She kept her hair short,
seldom wore dresses, and even gave herself the name SudieSueFrankie. She was the oldest of
three children, and she adored her parents and loved her siblings, even though she and brother
Randy worked very hard for a long time to convince their little sister Lynne she was adopted.
Susan was a natural athlete, was the drum major in her junior high school band, was a high
school Pep-Ette, and was the president of her high school sorority, when that was a thing.

After high school, she attended Texas Tech University to study education and quickly became
known for her outgoing personality and humor. The most significant part of her Tech experience,
though, was meeting the love of her life, former Tech football offensive lineman and then current
graduate student and Tech football graduate coach, Bill Shaha. They fell deeply in love, but she
wasn’t quite ready to make a lifelong commitment. However, after he was away for two years in
the Army and she had graduated, he returned to visit Lubbock where she was teaching. She heard
he was in town and tracked him down, and she told him that while he was gone, she compared
all of her other suitors to him, and none of them came close. They wed that December and were
married for 56 years.

Bill and Susan raised two boys, Scott and Danny. She loved being a boy mom. She encouraged
them in all their endeavors, coached them, taught them, and loved them completely throughout.
There are too many adventures and funny stories to list here, but they were often and plentiful.
Their household was light, lively, and loving, and she instilled in them a heart for family, for
others, and for education. Both are still in education to this day.

Susan was a true educator. She taught various subjects and grades, but the majority of her career
was spent in Burleson, first at Norwood Elementary where she taught 6th grade math, and then at
Hughes Middle School. She loved that school. She began there as the head girls coach, a role that
involved coaching every girls sport, whether she knew how to play it or not. She adopted every
one of the girls she coached and poured her heart and soul into each of them. The simple fact that
so many still refer to her as Coach Shaha 38 years after she left coaching exemplifies the impact she had. Her teams won several district championships during her time as a coach, but, moreover, her players felt like champions themselves knowing she championed each of them.

As Assistant Principal and Principal at Hughes, she was known for her integrity, her leadership,
and her love and empowerment of her teachers. She also had a genuine knack for forming deep
and lasting mentoring relationships with her students, especially those who truly needed it. Her
family still gets stopped in town by her former students who tell of the times when Mrs. Shaha
invested in them when no one else had (even while administering “licks”) and how their lives
were immeasurably altered and improved by her. Her teachers and staff adored and respected her.
She empowered them and they, in turn, provided stellar education to their students. She retired in
2008, serving as the longest tenured principal, ever, in Burleson, having served for 17 years. And
so many of her teachers and colleagues remained her closest friends until her passing.

Bill and Susan enjoyed a terrific and enviable retirement together. Together, they visited all 50
states and played golf at over 100 courses. They visited family, traveled with friends, family, and
their dogs, and truly lived, laughed, and loved. Susan was an avid golfer (with two hole in ones),
and enjoyed bike riding, playing tennis, attending musicals, and especially spending time with
friends and family.

Susan passed away on May 10, 2024, after a valiant, eight month battle with cancer. She was
preceded in death by her parents, William Otho (W. O.) and Mary Jo (Wilson) Reynolds.
Susan is survived by her husband William (Bill) Earl Shaha; her two sons, William Scott Shaha
(wife Belinda Pettit Shaha), and James Daniel (Danny) Shaha (wife Elizabeth Urban Shaha); six
grandchildren, Raygen Lee, Parker Shaha, Jackson Shaha, Lucas Shaha, Lilly Shaha, and
Delaney Shaha; siblings, Randy Reynolds (wife Niki) and sister Lynne (Reynolds) Tolles
(husband Reed) and their families; and the two most spoiled dogs you’ll ever know, Shadow and
Mischief.

She loved each one of her family members, friends, staff, and students for who they were just as
they were, and they are all blessed to have had their precious wife, mom, Susu, sister, friend,
teacher, and mentor for as long as they did.

A memorial service will be held at Pathway Church, 325 NW Renfro St, Burleson, TX, 76028 at
2:30 pm on Thursday, May 16, 2024, with a visitation immediately following. Donations in lieu
of flowers may be sent to support a scholarship in Susan’s name to the Burleson Area Retired
School Employees Association, P. O. Box 1135, Burleson TX 76028-1135. The family also
wishes to express their sincere gratitude to Saint Gabriel’s Hospice who provided such loving,
thoughtful, and compassionate care to Susan and her family.