Susan Carole Lay was born in Lockhart, TX on December 17, 1967 and was granted her faerie wings to fly home to the God she had such faith in on September 27, 2021. Susie was preceded in death by her mother Carolyn Lay. She is survived by her husband and long time companion Brent White; her father Leon Lay of McMahan, TX; brothers Warren Lay and wife Kim Lay of Lockhart, Leonard Lay and wife Laurie Lay of Lockhart; Nieces Jennie Freeman and husband Justin Freeman of Dale, TX, Sara Lay and Lauren Lay of Lockhart; Nephews Logan Lay and Luke Lay of Lockhart and grand niece Kendall Freeman.

A Memorial Service for Susan Lay (Susie) will be held at the Gaslight Baker Theatre on Tuesday, October 5th at 6PM. A graveside service will be held the following Wednesday, October 6th at 1PM at the Luling City Cemetery in Luling. A Celebration of Susie's Life will follow the graveside service at 407 Cibilo in Lockhart.

Susie is a beautiful and loving soul full of passion and joy and a ‘playground sense of justice.’ She loved people, never leaving them strangers for very long. She loved live theatre in general and was passionate about the Gaslight-Baker Theatre in specific where she spent so much of her time and energy. She loved her cats, and your cats, and no one’s cats and treated them all with a profound and sweet respect. She loved Brent and was committed to bring out the best version of him. She loved Jesus and carried a beautiful faith with her through all of her struggles. She had an amazing way of finding beauty in the commonplace. We will miss her until we are reunited with her in the joy she always radiated, at home at last.

 

 

Susie was our faerie and our angel. Always quick to lend a hand or an encouraging word, always willing to be a smiling face to passerby who were curious about the theatre, she was an ever-present, effervescent spirit of joy. One of our directors has said of Susie, “Her spirit would feed us, uplift us, make us feel special, unique, loved.” One of our actors said this, “Susie wrote hand-written cards. She was someone whose visits were always too short. She was a warm look, a soft voice, a strong heart, a voice of assurance in an unsure world. She served and gave, and loved.” Also, “I hurt that she's gone, while knowing full well that she'll be here always: in the sound of a flowing creek, in the twinkling star of a dark night…” One of our students shared with us that she was “the kindest person they had ever met.”

 

“There’s a gaping hole left in our hearts and in our GBT family with her loss, but also, there’s light and hope, laughter and love, dwelling there because of Susie. She filled every space she entered. Her spirit and love will always live on within us and within the walls of the Gaslight. ‘Because I knew you, I have been changed…for good.’”