When we think of a dream job, very few of us think “Funeral Director” and yet this is the exact job that Susan Benesch loved and excelled at. By being able to help people at the worst time of their lives, she felt that she made a difference and therefore embraced that opportunity. Her friends would agree that she loves to help people and has chosen customer service industries that have allowed her to extend her hand and help those in need.

She expresses that same compassion, understanding and genuine caring through her seniors accompaniment business, Driving Miss Daisy. Her grandmother was her true inspiration to purchase a territory and start the business as her grandmother simply wanted to be treated with dignity and respect and needed assistance to maintain her independence and individuality. Susan understood this need of her grandmother’s and realized she could provide this to seniors through her business.

Seniors serviced through Driving Miss Daisy will soon be adding to a unique, and overflowing “appreciation” book that Susan’s kept and treasured for years. She’s received such accolades from friends, clients, customers, neighbours, and even her family. With three children and over 20 years with her husband, Susan is admired and adored by them. When she first met her husband, it was love at first sight and soon the high school sweethearts became life-long soul mates.

Her family also have a love for travelling and experiencing different cultures, meeting new people and even helping where they can. Their quick laughter and open door policy to everyone around them make them quite popular in the neighbourhood.

It might be her humble beginnings in Stony Plain, Alberta, or her growth in compassion from the funeral industry, or even the Nursing Program that she excelled in…that has contributed to the woman Susan is today. Either way, the poem “The Starfish” most aptly describes her as that one person who continues to throw dying starfish from the sand, back into the ocean, if only to save one.