Susie Wasdin

Susie Wasdin died on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, at the age of 77, eight years after an Alzheimer's diagnosis around 2018. Florida Today reported the death on 30 September 2026. She had spoken about the illness with Tom in a 2023 Florida Today profile so others facing dementia might feel less alone. Memorial service details were still being finalized at the time of that report. She is survived by her husband, three children and two grandchildren.

Susie Wasdin grew up in Brevard County, Florida, and graduated with Cocoa Beach High School's Class of 1967. As a student she was a majorette, cheerleader, homecoming queen and student government participant. She attended Brevard Junior College and the University of Florida, where she earned a degree in education, then taught elementary and junior high school in Atlanta before returning to the Space Coast in the early 1980s.

After returning to Brevard she joined Wasdin Associates, Tom Wasdin's real estate and rental firm, and became known for pre-selling Harbor Woods condominiums on Merritt Island. Over the next decades she and Tom were among Brevard's most visible philanthropic couples. She planned high-profile fundraisers for the Historic Cocoa Village Playhouse, Brevard Humane Society, Brevard Cultural Alliance, political campaigns and education foundations, often inventing memorable touches such as pet red-carpet walks and a helicopter landing for a Playhouse gala.

She served on the Eastern Florida State College Foundation Board from 2012 to 2018 and helped establish and sustain scholarships for Brevard students, including the Tom and Susie Wasdin Endowed Scholarship and the Distinguished Alumni and Friends Scholarship. Florida Today named her Volunteer of the Year. Supporters said she raised millions for local organizations while keeping events stylish even on tight budgets.

Susie married Tom Wasdin on 21 August 1985 at sunset on a sailboat off Mallory Square in Key West after he hired her into his real estate business. They lived in a Cocoa Village condo overlooking the Indian River and hosted frequent parties that doubled as community gatherings. She is survived by Tom; their three children, Andrew, Lori and Steve Wasdin; and grandchildren Brayden and Delaney. She had returned to Brevard in the early 1980s as a divorced mother of a young son before her marriage to Tom.

Wasdin is remembered across Brevard as a joyful, stylish fundraiser whose work strengthened the Cocoa Village Playhouse, Brevard Humane Society, Eastern Florida State College scholarships and many other local charities. College president James Richey and community advocate Connie Harvey were among those who praised her kindness and lasting impact. The scholarships she helped endow and the annual galas she shaped remain part of Space Coast civic life.