09/30/2026
With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of our co-founder and co-president, Susan Seizer.
A few years ago, Susan and other wheelchair users in her neighborhood dubbed themselves the Wheelie Women. They decided to make the world a better place by donating the gently used medical equipment in their garages to those in need -- and thus, MALL was born.
Susan was an anthropology professor, disability rights advocate, and devoted wife and mother. She was passionate about helping others adapt to life with changing mobility. From her blue hair to her colorful patterned dresses to her turquoise standing wheelchair, she embraced life in full color and at full throttle.
Susan's wife, Catherine, wrote these heartfelt and profound words in memory of Susan:
"I am beyond sad to tell you that my darling wife Susan Seizer died on the evening of September 29.
Susan leaves behind our two sons Keith and Forrest; her mother Fern; brother Steve and sister-in-law Claudia; Keith’s fiance Hannah Arroyo; and nephews Daniel, David and Andrew. All are bereft. In her own life she endured the loss of her father Bob and grandmother Florence. She is also mourned by my family in Australia.
Susan was a teacher and anthropologist. She taught at Indiana University firstly in the Department of Communication and Culture and then in the Department of Anthropology. Before coming to IU she was Chair of the Departments of Anthropology, and Gender and Women's Studies at Scripps College in Claremont, California.
Susan's first fieldwork took her to Madurai in Tamil Nadu where she hung out deeply and with great curiosity in the community of Special Drama actors and actresses. She was a much-admired writer, and her book "Stigmas of the Tamil Stage" won the Coomarawaswamy Prize awarded by the Association for Asian Studies. At IU, she took on the deceptively simple phenomena of humor and laughter. Her fieldwork with a trio of stand-up comics, including the incomparable Stuart Huff, resulted in the movie "Road Comics."
In 1994, Susan was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. No one should be under the illusion that Susan regarded her experience with this stupid disease as a battle. Rather, she kicked this inconvenient mystery to the curb and proceeded to live her best life. She dealt with its creeping depredations with curiosity, pragmatism, stoicism, and the occasional flash of anger mixed with black humor. She loved moving, a legacy of dance, her first profession, and love. For a long time, she practiced yoga. She loved the water where she found the freedom of weightlessness. One of my favorite memories is of swimming with her at Sunset Beach in Hawaii, surrendering to the lift and drop of the waves that pushed us gently and inexorably back to shore. She was a member of the Southeast YMCA here in Bloomington. I am grateful for the support and friendship she found there.
Susan was one of the Wheelie Women who founded the Mobility Aids Lending Library, which provides free medical and mobility devices to anyone who needs them. She was proud of this organization and loved her association with everyone involved.
You can honor Susan's memory by making a contribution either to the MALL at www.mobilityaidslendinglibrary.org or to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society at www.nationalmssociety.org."
The funeral will be held this Friday, October 2, at 11:00 am at Congregation Beth Shalom. For those who can’t join in person, please click below to watch the livestream.
https://vimeo.com/event/4058236/363f6bba27
May her memory be a blessing.
Donations in her honor may be made via this post or on our website.
