Susan Fay (Rand) Hill

November 17, 1973 ~ February 16, 2017

Susan Hill, 43, Sioux Falls, was received into Heaven’s gates Thursday, February 16, 2017, at the Dougherty Hospice Home in Sioux Falls.

Public viewing will begin at 4pm, Tuesday, February 21, 2017, at Central Church, (3102 W. Ralph Rogers Rd, Sioux Falls) with Family present from 5-6:30pm. Funeral Services will begin at 7pm. A private interment is scheduled at the Monroe Reformed Church Cemetery.

Do to a large number of requests, Susan’s Funeral Service will be posted here with a link to view the recording. This will be sometime around March 1st.

Susan Fay Rand was born on November 17, 1973, to Ivan and the late Evelyn (Winkel) Rand, in Dell Rapids, SD. Susan grew up on a farm near Colton, SD, and graduated from Tri-Valley High School, and North Central University. While at North Central, she worked at Teen Challenge, a position that helped prepare her for ministry, as well as for foster care.

Susan married Christopher Hill in 2008, and together, they became foster parents to 11 children. They shared a love of life and for each other that was contagious. From telling each other “olives to you” when they felt that they weren’t serious enough to say “I love you,” to their fun loving comments like, “You’re really nice for a boy/ You’re really nice for a girl,” it was obvious that they truly enjoyed each other! They enjoyed going to fairs together and hiking; even with stage 4 cancer, Susan was able to hike in the Ozark Mountains and the Grand Canyon!

Susan’s life was forever changed with a diagnosis of stage 3 breast cancer in 2007. She became active in cancer awareness and raising funds for research, especially in the Relay for Life. In 2013, Susan was the honorary Chair and keynote speaker for the Relay, giving a speech entitled, “I Will Fight, and I Will Win!” While she eventually succumbed to cancer, she did win, because she beat the odds in surviving and thriving as long as she did, and because she was able to keep her positive attitude until the end. Susan was proud of the fact that she survived 4 1/2 years with stage 4 cancer!

Susan used the cancer as a reason to help others, and became somewhat of a local celebrity when she started dressing up herself and her infusion pole for her weekly chemo infusions. She would then visit other patients, giving out candy and spreading cheer. She loved drawing people into her shenanigans! Susan also described what it is like to live with terminal cancer on the website Caringbridge.org. No matter how bad the news would sometimes be, she would always find the positives in her situation. Her faith was extremely important to her and pole decorating and Caringbridge became a ministry for her.

Susan loved, and was loved by her coworkers and managers at FedEx, and earned the nickname “Smiley” for a reason!

Susan will be deeply missed by her husband, Chris; father, Ivan Rand, Sioux Falls, brothers, Elden (Wendy) Rand and Ryan (Kayla) Rand; mother and father-law, Raymond and Mary Porzio, FL; brothers-in-law, Eugene (Deborah) Hill and Steven (Ronna) Hill, NJ; many nieces and nephews, and 11 foster children, including the current foster son, Terrence.

Susan was preceded in death by her mother, Evelyn Rand.

A memorial has been established to the Avera Cancer Institute for Research in Susan’s memory.

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