Susan L. Kangas

Susan “Suzy Q” Kangas, age 61, of Saint Paul, artist, poet, stand-up comedian, sign language jokester, finder of four-leafed clovers, passed away unexpectedly on August 7, 2026. Born on March 21, 1965, in Minneapolis, she dedicated much of her life to music, art and culture.

Suzy left a lasting impression on just about everyone who met her. She was a genuine free spirit – vibrant and impulsive, generous and unfiltered, colorful and mischievous. She knew she was different, but she wasn’t ashamed to stand out with her boisterous laugh and her steampunk, salsa-dancer style. Some people were naturally taken aback or intimidated by her, but many others were drawn to her easy smile and the lively stories she shared about her many adventures. Suzy was a woman with a great appetite for life, she loved romance and art, oysters and island sunsets, and above all music. It was perhaps her passion for music that led her to choose the path less traveled, and to leave school and begin working at 17. She joined the Coffeehouse Extempore’ in Minneapolis, on Minneapolis' West Bank, then one of the oldest and most renowned folk music centers in the nation, where she she was regularly booking concerts and mingling with a host of celebrated folk musicians and songwriters.

In a matter of just a few years, Suzy had amassed a lifetime worth of remarkable experiences and memories, while also enduring the frustrations of struggling to make a livelihood in a still very patriarchal industry. Always resilient, she went on to study art at the University of Minnesota and secured a degree in culinary arts at Minneapolis Community and Technical College. She then worked for several years at the Minneapolis Women's Club and later at the Saint Paul Yacht Club.

Like so many colorful, creative souls, she also had her dark side, suffering from depression and substance abuse. She found solace in the love and support of her family, in the therapy of painting, and in new passions, such as her fascination for the history of her childhood neighborhood in Minneapolis. Many promeneurs strolling through the Minnehaha neighborhood will have encountered Suzy at the historic Minnehaha Depot where she volunteered as the Victorian Historian, recounting to visitors the stories of the depot and its creator, Robert F. (Fish) Jones of the Longfellow House. But Suzy never lost her original passion for music, and in recent years, worked occasionally at the Cabooze, the historic Minneapolis music venue, where musicians knew her as Suzy Q, singer and emcee of the locally famous Battle of the Jug Bands.

As Suzy’s health declined in recent times, her inability to continue being part of the city’s musical and cultural community was the cause of great sadness for her. We believe she is at peace now, undoubtedly dancing to the music of the spheres.

Suzy is preceded in death by her grandparents, Milo and Lillian Iverson and Frances Kangas.

She is survived by her parents, Lora (Dean) Child and Bob (Colleen) Kangas; and many friends.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date.