Mary "Susan" Susan Matson

Susan Matson, 70, of Greeley passed away November 1, 2020. Susan was born the third of five children on August 31, 1950 to Frederick and Carol Brown in Springfield, Missouri. Susan’s family relocated several times in support of her father’s army career while she was growing up: from Massachusetts, to Germany, to Florida, before finally returning to Missouri during her high school years. Susan aspired to be an actress, which led to her majoring in theater at SMSU in Springfield. During her college years her friend group included a few peers destined for future acting fame. Years later she would enjoy recounting anecdotes about sneaking into the teachers’ lounge with John Goodman and other students to investigate the technological wonder of the new copy machine, and providing a driving lesson to Kathleen Turner. A few years after college, Susan moved to Colorado with her good friend Betty, whom she had befriended during their time as Girl Scout camp leaders. They settled into life in Denver, and there in 1976 she met Les Matson, the future love of her life. Les moved to Greeley, Colorado in 1978 to pursue his career, and love struck Susan followed. They married in Greeley the following year. While Les built his presence in the construction industry, a pregnant Susan completed a Masters in Counseling at UNC. Their first child, daughter Lindsey, was born in 1981, and their second child, son Ben, was born in 1983. She balanced raising her young children with her professional work as both a counselor and professor of dream psychology at Aims Community College for several years. Around the time her husband started Les Matson Construction in 1985, Susan left Aims to assist with the new family business. Throughout the 80s and 90s both the kids and the business grew, and Susan was very involved with both. In addition to her role as vice president of the company, she served as her daughter’s Girl Scout troop leader, the assistant leader to her son’s Cub Scout troop, and coordinated a host of other extracurricular activities. As their children transitioned into college and adulthood, Susan and Les spent much of their free time travelling. They enjoyed trips to Europe, South America, and other exotic locales as much as spending time camping with friends in national parks all over the western United States. Susan was preceded in death by her parents, older sisters Theresa Perks and Shirley Wagener, and her younger brother Freddie Brown. She is survived by her youngest sister Barbara Brown Adams, her husband Les, and her children Lindsey and Ben. A Life Celebration will be held at 1:00pm on Saturday, November 7, 2020 at Adamson Life Celebration Home in Greeley. The family requests that attendees wear masks and bright colors. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Susan’s honor to the Humane Society of Weld County in care of Adamson Life Celebration Home, 2000 47th Ave, Greeley CO 80634. To leave memories or condolences, please visit adamsoncares.com