Susan Houstoun was a Scottish police skiing champion, climber and horse rider, whose love of the outdoors only deepened after her cancer diagnosis.
When she became unwell in late 2020 and was given a gloomy prognosis, Susan and her husband, former Angus police officer, Sandy, devised a bucket list of outdoor activities.
Susan, who has died aged 59, completed the last of her 221 Corbetts. The occasion was celebrated at the top of Garbh Bheinn with Sandy, sons Michael and Robert, and family and friends.
Sandy and Susan also walked the Angus coastline, went sea kayaking, skied in the Dolomites and took trips to the Hebrides in their rigid inflatable boat, Marmalade of Dundee.
Even lockdown calls with her oncology team at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, would often be taken while Susan was horse riding or during 75-mile cycles into the Cairngorms.
Sandy and Susan lived at Kinnettles where he had been a landward police officer for 33 years. After she left the police, Susan learned upholstery and taught at evening classes.
She was born Susan Kerr in Kingennie and grew up with sisters Anne, Joyce, Valerie and Gillian.
Susan went to Carnoustie High School and her hobbies included horse riding, skating, swimming and music.
Musician
She was a piano and accordion player and joined family members playing in Dundee Strathspey and Reel Society, including at one concert in the Royal Albert Hall, London.
When she left school, Susan went to work in a bank where colleagues introduced her to skiing.
During this time she served as a special constable before joining Tayside Police full time in 1983.
After postings to Forfar and Arbroath, Susan joined the special inquiries section at the then eastern division headquarters in Forfar.
Susan and Sandy, who was serving in Brechin, met a road junction during a prisoner handover and discovered they were both keen skiers.
Marriage
They married in Murroes Church in 1988 and held their reception at Reid Hall, Forfar.
Susan left the police in 1990 when Michael was born and as the family grew up, she undertook charitable work before starting her upholstery business.
She also passed on her skiing skills to Michael and Robert, which were honed during annual trips to Canada.
All the Munros were conquered as well as the Corbetts and Susan also took up ski-mountaineering, racing in the Alps and Norway and down the gullies of Ben Nevis’s north face.
Susan was a regular at the Angus Ball, both dancing and playing the piano or the accordion.
Runner
A founding member of Angus Canoe Club, Susan completed the Dundee Marathon, was a book club member and played bridge until a few weeks before her death.
Although the outlook was bleak, Susan faced her illness with positivity. She made the most of every moment was was able to see Michael and Robert marry their brides Tessa and Fiona.
Her family will scatter Susan’s ashes at the top of Cairnwell on Saturday June 17 2023, a ceremony that will include music and a toast.
At her funeral at Glamis Kirk, the retiring collection raised £4620 for Scottish Mountain Rescue.
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