Susan Elking Grabar, age 48, of Irving, Texas, passed away July 20, 2013, in Irving. Susan was born December 17, 1964, in Clayton, Missouri, to George Joseph and Rita Ann (Kosman) Elking. She married Mario John Grabar, Jr., on November 29, 1997, in Plano, Texas. Susan graduated from Stephen F. Austin University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture and Horticulture and later earned a Master of Arts and then a Master of Fine Arts. Her thesis project was designing and building a site specific sculpture garden on the SFA campus, known as the “Elking Environment”. She became a certified landscape professional in 1999. Susan formed her company, Expressions by Susan, in 1995 after her graduation from SFA. She and her husband, Mario, built the company into a design, installation, and maintenance of large commercial, residential and urban landscapes. Susan was a volunteer at the Texas Discover Garden at Fair Park, a North Texas Master Gardener, and a member of St. Mark Catholic Church in Plano.
She is survived by her husband, Mario Grabar, Jr. of Irving, Texas; son, Mario Grabar, III; daughter, Lily Grabar, both of Irving; father, George Elking and wife, Brigitte of Plano, Texas; brother, George Elking, III and wife, Ronda also of Plano; sister, Linda Foster and husband, Pete of Wylie, Texas; and brother-in-law, Fred Bogs.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Rita Ann Elking and sister, Carolyn Elking Bogs.
A funeral mass will be held at 10:30 a.m., on Friday, July 26, 2013, at St. Mark Catholic Church, 1105 W. 15th St., Plano, Texas, 75075. The family will receive friends during a visitation on Thursday, July 25, 2013, from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home in Allen, Texas.
A reception will follow funeral services at St. Mark Catholic Church Parrish Center in the Great Hall.