SUSAN LEE AMELANG

February 17, 1945 - September 14, 2026

St George, UT - Susan Lee (Painter) Amelang passed away peacefully on September 14, 2026 in St George, Utah. She was born on February 17, 1945 in Patuxent River, Maryland to James Whitfield Painter and Peggy June (Yost) Painter. Her father was a World War II Navy pilot and flight instructor who later became a high school teacher, while her mother taught Home Economics. After the family moved to Southern California, her father Jim built their family home by hand, in stages, in the Sam Fernando Valley. A son named Greg joined the family in 1948.

Susan excelled in all levels of school. She was the captain of the drill squad at her high school, designing formations that the performers would execute on the field, including inside the Rose Bowl. She was voted May Queen in her senior year. Susan continued her education at Stanford, where she studied English and Mathematics, and spent a summer abroad in Germany. After earning a Master's Degree - also from Stanford , Susan discovered the passion that would define her life: teaching.

For more than 35 years, Sue was a brilliant educator, teaching mathematics to thousands of students at Pacoima Junior High, and William S. Hart High. Many of her students were underprivileged, raisaed by single mothers, or lived under the threat of gang violence. She was a devoted, tireless advocate for her students. Once, during a prolinged teachers' strike,she even mailed stacks of homework assignments to her individual pupils. One of her proudest accomplishments was "This Is Your Life," a math-based Life Skills curriculum she authored with a team of educators. 

Susan's husband, Laurence Michael Amelang (Larry,)  was the love of her life. Their families had known each other in Woodland Hills, California since the two of them were young. Sue and Larry even attended the same kindergarten class! They went on to be members of the William Howard Taft High School's second graduating class in 1962. They did not date serioudsly, however, until after he returned from serving as a missionary in France. On June  22, 1968, in Woodland Hills, the lovebirds married, later settling in California's Santa Clarita Valley. There, they raised three sons and one daughter, living in the same house for 49 years.

After retiring, Sue continued her passion by tutoring students, even her own grandchildren, in her beloved mathematics. During this time, she discovered another of her passions genealogy and family history work. She would spend thousands of hours poring over online archives in ordeer to identify and connect nearly 6000 individuals to their family trees. Sue visualized the joy these families would experience as they were connected.

Sue was a devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving in various ward organizations throughout her life. She taught a variety of age groups, from children to adults, including Early-morning Seminary.

She was preceded in death by her father James Painter and her mother Peggy (Yost) Painter.

She is survived by her husband Laurence Amelang; her son Michael Amelang of St George, Utah; her daughter Lauren  (Amelang) Huyck of AshburnVirginia; her son Daniel Amelang of San Digo, California; her son Jeffrey Amelang of Loingmont, Colorado; Fourteen grandchildren and one great-granchild; and her brother Gregory Painter of Genoa, Nevada.

The family expresses their appreciation for the doctors, nurses, staff and caregivers who helped Sue along her path, a journey that became challenging at times.

A private service will be held by the family at a future date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her honor to the Pepetual Education Fund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Visit the Fund's website https://www.church of jesuschrist.org/life/education/perpetual-education-fund?lang=eng for more information.