Mary Susan Gussenhoven Shea, 88

Mary Susan Gussenhoven Shea passed away gently in her sleep at age 88, after a difficult struggle with epilepsy. Sue was born in Havre, Mont., on May 22, 1937; she was the second of eight children born to Eugene W. Gussenhoven and Mary Dickinson Gussenhoven.  

The family moved to Lewiston, Idaho, during the war years. After graduating from Lewiston High School in 1955, Sue attended Mount Holyoke College and earned her BA in Physics in 1959. She earned her Master of Science in Physics from the University of Minnesota and taught secondary science for two years in Kingston, Jamaica, as a Catholic volunteer. 

She enjoyed teaching but loved the exploration of scientific research. This passion led her to enter the Space Physics doctoral program at Boston College and culminated in a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1971. Her graduate research in near-Earth magnetospheric environments led her to a career at the Geophysics Laboratory at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Mass. Here, she headed up the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) International Science Team, which was a joint NASA and Department of Defense (DoD) mission. During this time, she married Dr. Francis “Frank” X. Shea, who was an academician, writer, and administrator at Boston, Saint Scholastica, and Antioch Colleges. They were much loved and greatly admired, both individually and as a couple. Their life together ended abruptly when Frank died unexpectedly of a massive coronary in 1977, three years after they had wed. Sue returned to Boston and continued her research (see Scopus for citations) at HAFB until her retirement in 2000. For her outstanding research contributions in space particle physics, she received the Guenter Loesser Memorial Award in 1993 and was honored as an Air Force Science and Technology Fellow in 2000. She retired to Corinth, Vt., where she continued her passion for renovating houses and rescuing Old English Sheepdogs.  

Sue was kind, gracious, and generous, and she had a wonderful sense of humor. Sue remained dedicated to Frank throughout her life and ensured that one of his non-fiction books, The Shadowbrook Fire, was published after his death. She also donated 80 acres in his name to the town of Corinth, Vt., for a Town Forest. She loved her Vermont community and entertaining family, especially her many nieces and nephews, who adored her. After she was diagnosed with epilepsy, Sue came home to Idaho to live with her family, who were continually impressed by her resilience, joy in living, and exploration of Earth’s natural wonders (she never met a rock she didn’t like). She passed away Oct. 31, 2025, in Hayden, Idaho, while under the care of hospice.  

Sue was predeceased by her husband, parents, grandparents and four siblings: David, Rosalind (Della Maggiora), Peter and William Gussenhoven. She is survived by her brothers, Frank and Paul; and sister Cora "Jo" Gussenhoven; in addition to multiple Gussenhoven, Della Maggiora, Shea and Hogan nieces and nephews.  

The viewing will be at 10 a.m., on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, at St. Pius X Catholic Church (625 E. Haycraft Ave., Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815). The funeral mass will be held in her honor at 11 a.m. (10:30 a.m. rosary). Her burial will take place in the Spring at Saint Joseph Cemetery in Boston, Mass., and a memorial will be held in Corinth, Vt.

Yates Funeral Home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is entrusted with the final arrangements. Her online memorial is at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.