Susan Elizabeth (Wacker) Nordin

Susan Elizabeth Nordin (née Wacker) passed peacefully into the arms of her Savior on August 1, 2025, at the age of 77. A woman of unwavering faith, boundless love, and gentle strength. Susan’s life was a testament to devoted service to God and family.

Born to missionaries Robert and Marion Wacker, Susan spent her formative years from childhood through adolescence living on the mission field in Peru for 13 years, where her parents served with Wycliffe Bible Translators for 18 years. This early experience of service and faith shaped the compassionate heart that would define her entire life.

A song was always on Susan’s lips. Whether harmonizing with her children, humming old hymns, or lifting her voice in worship, music was the soundtrack of her soul. Her love for God’s word was evident in her dedication to memorizing Scripture throughout the year. She would play on her Scripture Typer app, and her well-worn Bible was never far from her side. For 54 beautiful years, Susan was the beloved wife of Jack Nordin. Together, they made their home in the Hidden Valley of Franklin, North Carolina, where they found daily joy watching deer, turkeys, and wildlife pass through their fields. Their love story was one of partnership, faith, and shared wonder at God’s creation.

Susan was a devoted mother who not only gave life to five children but opened her heart to adopt a sixth, demonstrating the expansive love that characterized her spirit. She raised her children to be strong, honest, and to show up for the people they love—lessons that continue to guide them today. Even as Alzheimer’s disease challenged her in her final years, Susan’s legacy of love remained unshaken. Her family chooses to remember for her: the wife who supported and loved her husband unconditionally, the mother who prayed over her children’s lives and knew them better than they knew themselves. Though the disease may have dimmed her recognition, it could never diminish the indelible mark she left on every life she touched. She smiled at everyone she saw and shared her faith with any who would listen.

Susan is survived by her devoted husband Jack Nordin; her children Jennifer Bertz (Erik), Katherine Greenley (Seth), Debbie Thacker (Nathan), Timothy Nordin, Christopher Nordin (Samantha), and Laura Jayne Cook; her cherished grandchildren Noah, Ethan, Samuel, and Olivia Greenley; Hailey and Kaitlin Dyer; Gavin, Logan, Eli, and Titus Nordin; and Desmond Nordin; and her siblings Barry Wacker, Deborah Wacker, and Charlie Wacker.

A celebration of Susan’s life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to your local church supported missions.

“Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.’” – Proverbs 31:28-29

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