Susan ‘Su Suz’ Diane Ours

Susan “Su Suz” Diane Ours took her final bows on Life’s Stage on September 2, 2022 with her sister by her side.  Cancer was her toughest and most unforgiving critic.

It was a surprisingly quiet denouement for a woman better known for her bravura performances, belting torch songs, room-filling laughter, and a wit that matched laser scalpels with its precision. Waiting in the wings are the awestruck:  Her sister Marsha (Ours) Duling, her brother Gerald Ours, as well as an endless coterie of adoring cousins, nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews.  She is also survived by a special friend, Leslie Locke. Additionally, she is survived by her expansive Found Families in the Indianapolis Theatre Community, The Home Loan Savings Bank, and generations of performers reaching out from the heart of Indianapolis to the West Coast and Broadway, as well as generations of audiences who will never forget the power and wonder of her deft skill as a professional singer and actress, or the depth and commitment that was her friendship and profound love of her community.

Su was well-loved by audiences near and far for her work on stage, but it was in her serving career where she really touched lives and made lifelong friends.  Su knew Everyone – daytime regulars, dinner/drinking clubs and families who frequented Pat Flynn’s, as well as late night guests at the bar who had just finished a show or just gotten off a serving shift themselves.  Like all the best bar people, she knew and remembered small facts about everyone and made them feel right at home.

Preceding Su in death were her parents, George and Margaret Ours and her beloved “Footie”. Following Susan’s wishes a cremation took place and a celebration of life will occur at a later date. The family asks in lieu of donation that you pay an act of kindness forward in remembrance of Susan.

The family would also like to thank Riverside Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and Crossroads Hospice for their kindness and care.

The Reviews Are In!  Su Ours Was A Once In A Lifetime Experience!

“Su Ours was a stalwart member of the Indianapolis Theatre scene known for her beautiful voice, supreme wit, and enduring friendships both professionally and personally.  At the Command Players, Footlite Musicals, Black Curtain Dinner Thearre, Starlight Musicals, CTS, Broadripple Playhouse, Indiana Repertory Theatre, and Red Barn Playhouse (Saugatuck, MI) She forged creative bonds that continued throughout her performing career. She was known to breathe life into strong, yet sensitive women, including Nancy in OLIVER, Lily/Katherine in KISS ME KATE, Charlotte in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, Dorothy Parker in A SYMPTOM RECITAL, Sophie Tucker in AN AMERICAN LEGEND, Miss Mona in BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS, Reno Sweeney in ANYTHING GOES, Joanne in COMPANY, Sara Jane Moore in ASSASSINS, and many others.  Her Cabaret performances, both formal( SU OURS: NO E, NO H, NOEL) and informal (HEY WAITRESS, I’LL HAVE ANOTHER BEER! PRODUCTIONS at Pat Flynns) will long be remembered as a highlight of the Holidays.”- Chuck Goad

“Her voice and musicality, her wit and laughter, her command of the stage…I learned so much working with her…But beyond musical experiences, she was a friend through tough times and good.” – Paul Galloway

“Susan Ours, the Angels in Heaven just received their new lead singer! Love you!” -Stephen Preusse

“After we watched my daughter, Chelsea, play Elphaba in WICKED…she leaned over and said, You did good…if I had a daughter, I would want her to be just like Chelsea.” Well, your legacy is up on that stage too. You had a hand in my journey and so she’s got your imprint, too. And that is what she wanted to do. Pass on her love for the arts. And her talent alone will continue to speak to that through the wonderful memories that have been captured on video over the years.” -Karla Franko

“Her brilliance was unmatched.” -Stephen R. Hollenbeck

“She was an inspiration to many, a friend to many more, a force to be reckoned with and someone you always wanted to have a drink with when the opportunities arose. I’ll always remember her belting out “The Ladies Who Lunch” in COMPANY and as Sarah Jane Moore in

ASSASSINS at the Phoenix Theatre as well as her one woman tour de force as Sophie Tucker in that same space. Just a sampling of the memorable roles and moments she shared with us, Rest well, dear Su. Everybody rise.” -Brent Marty

“If Su entered stage right everyone else might as well exit stage left because Su was the only one you were going to be watching. There is not going to be another like her for a very long time…if ever.”  -Janet Sutton

“…there is one thing I’d like to share with Su, one lesson she demonstrated long before I was able to understand it. I began by saying how I could never understand why Su didn’t leave the Midwest and make her way to Broadway and certain success, but now I do. It took me many many years to realize how much more valuable friends, and family and community are than fame and fortune. As I hold Su in my heart and think of all the love and laughter she’s engendered, and think about the choices she made to be part of a community and of support to her family (even walking away completely from performing), it is clear to me that Su’s priorities were always clear. Thank you for showing me the importance of community and family and knowing who your most precious audience is. Su. Godspeed, Su.”  – Bill McKinley

“Suz was a lady that lived life All-In, on-stage or off. Everything she had, she gave. In her mind, Friendship and Connection were her holiest and most sacred treasures. The concepts were a physically tangible force in her presence. They were her shield, her armor, what held her aloft.  Where most of us only light candles and tiny flames in the souls of those around us, Suz lit towering, glowing signal fires. She drew everyone in. It was only a matter of time.

She was a powerful ambassador in the craft of music, and the love she had for the Arts rippled out over generations. In nearly all our memories, she was singing or laughing.  She knew EVERYBODY, had a story about EVERYBODY, and no one could ever have us helpless with laughter as she could. I swear to you that Suz will be with all of us in every melody, every descant, every soaring crescendo. Her life was music. Now, she IS music.”

“In honor of Suz, I have a humble request. Find a reason every day to sing, whenever, wherever, whyever.Take joy in the absurd. Tell the best damn stories. Tell those you love that you love them, and do more than just SAY it. Hook someone new on the joy of the Performing Arts and embed that love into their bones. Spread the fire of your soul into the world. And laugh, dammit! Life’s too short, and too damn much, to ever be taken seriously. Live a life All-In. And then, if you are very lucky, like Suz, you will leave your audience thunderstruck, and gasping, and always ALWAYS_ wanting more.” -Kim Stickrath, Suz’s niece EverybodyRise!

Category: Obituaries