Susan Terese (Moord) Christoules

Susan Terese (Moord) Christoules passed away at her home in Angola, Indiana on February 27, 2023. 

She was born on October 16, 1950, in Sturgis, Michigan to Elliott and June (Nottoli) Moord. Known as Susie or Sue, she was the second of seven children and spent most of her youth in Constantine, Michigan. The family moved to New Haven, Indiana in her late teens, where she graduated from New Haven High School in 1968 before attending Indiana University for two years.

On July 14, 1973, she married Al Christoules and together they lived in Indiana (Fort Wayne, Terre Haute, West Lafayette, and Angola), Illinois (Bloomington), and Texas (Grapevine) throughout their nearly 50 years of marriage. 

Sue and Al shared a love of sports, especially Indiana basketball, and for many years they attended the Big 10 Basketball tournament with a group of long-time friends. They also both enjoyed spending time at the family lake house that eventually became their full-time home, but also served as a gathering place for family and friends every summer.

Susie loved her family fiercely and hosted them regularly, so everyone could gather together. The door was always open, there was always another place at the dinner table, and there was always space for one more person to spend the night. 

Her brothers and sisters describe Susie as the peacekeeper of the family, both as a child and an adult, and as someone whose kindness made her a rock and a touchstone for those who needed her.

In July 1983, their daughter Alexis (Lexi) was born. As a mother, Sue was a frequent classroom volunteer, never missed one of Lexi’s sporting events, was always willing to give someone a ride, and wanted to be the house where Lexi and her friends hung out. 

In 2000, Sue began working at Bridges Accelerated Learning Center where she worked with high school students with a variety of actualities that led them to enroll there. Known there as Mrs. C, her official title was Registrar, but to the students, faculty and other staff, she was much more; she was there to give advice, a high five, or a shoulder to cry on, and for her it was incredibly fulfilling work. She worked there for eight years until she and Al moved back to Indiana to be closer to family.

In 2019, Susie’s dream of becoming a grandmother was realized. Samuel Jae Chaput was born in December 2019 and they connected immediately. He named her Yaya and looked forward to seeing her on FaceTime and having breakfast with her when he visited; Yaya always said yes to his choice of movie or song. In June 2023, Rece Oliver Chaput was born and given a name adapted from Yaya's middle name (Terese). They first met when Rece was four days old, and he immediately loved to snuggle and sleep on her. As Della Reese said, “Some of our best living is done by the people we leave behind” and that will certainly be true of these boys in the way they will remember and celebrate their Yaya.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Elliott and June (Nottoli) Moord and her in-laws Christ and Lana (Zimmerman) Christy. In addition to her grandsons, she is survived by her daughter Lexi (Jason) Chaput, her husband Al Christoules, her sisters Debbie (Bill) Josephson and Peggy Toliver, her brothers Marty (Kathy) Moord, Bill (Debbie) Moord, Jeff Moord and Dan (Sherri) Moord, and her brother and sister in-law Mitch (Sandi) Christoules.

A celebration of life will take place on Saturday, July 15, 2023 at the Presbyterian Chapel of the Lakes in Angola, Indiana. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations are made to the Bridges Scholarship fund through the Grapevine-Colleyville Education Foundation. 

To donate online - https://bit.ly/SueChristoules

Please check ‘I’d like to dedicate this gift’ and make the gift in memory of Sue Christoules to direct your donation to the Bridges Scholarship fund. 

Checks can also be mailed to - Grapevine Colleyville Education Foundation, P.O. Box 292, Grapevine, TX 76099; please write Sue Christoules in the memo line.