Date of Birth:
Monday, June 11, 1951
Date of Death:
Sunday, February 22, 2026
Age:
74 years old

Suzanne “Sue” M. Pries

Suzanne M. Pries, age 74, passed away on February 22, 2026 in Rochester.

Sue was born at St. Marys Hospital on June 11, 1951, to Joe and June (Eggler) Hain. (Her Mayo Clinic number started out with 1-800, which created some laughter when people would say: “No, not your telephone number”.) She grew up on a farm outside Rochester with two sisters, two brothers, chickens, pigs, cows and a dog or two. It was a great time and place to live and grow up, walking in the woods, or along the creek, helping with chores, and unloading hay bales in the summer.

Sue attended a one room country school through 6th grade, although when she started, there were 12 grades. Water had to be pumped and brought in to be poured into the Red Wing water crock. The bathrooms were outside and the building was heated by an oil stove. With only 10-12 students, total, in all six grades, it was soon time to close the school. She then started school in Rochester at Kellogg Jr. High and graduated from John Marshall High in 1969. She attended RCTC, graduating in 1971, and started working for the State Farm Claims Office in Rochester as a secretary.

She met her prince, Jim Pries, in the late fall of 1971 and they married in April of 1972. They lived out near Oxbow Park until December, 1973, when they moved into Byron. Sue continued to work until the birth of their first son, (Bob) and continued to be a stay-at-home mom through the addition of their second (Matt) and third (Steve) sons. When Steve was 2, Sue went back to work in the same State Farm office, again as a secretary and was soon promoted to the superintendent’s administrative assistant.

In 1986, Sue started taking night classes through Winona University. She attended classes in Rochester, Red Wing, and the Winona Tech School, but never attended any classes on Campus. She graduated with a BS Degree in 1994, all while being a mom and working full time. Sue always said that period in her life is what made her boys such good husbands. They learned to cook (from their dad), could sew on a button, knew how to do laundry (but never hers), and learned how to care for themselves and each other and grow up as wonderful young men.

Sue became a claims adjuster in the same State Farm office and continued working until her 55th birthday, when she retired after 27 years.

After taking a few months off, she was hired by the Church of Christ the King (where she and Jim were married and attended for 45 years together.) That temporary job lasted nine years.

In 2013, Sue was diagnosed with non-alcoholic liver disease-NASH. She began treating and looking for a live donor. Although several people offered to donate, none were a valid match. Sue continued to work until her symptoms became too much. The liver disease eventually damaged her kidneys, making it necessary for Sue to require both a liver and kidney transplant, so a live donor was now out. Jim cared for her, going to doctor appointments with her and generally being one of her caregivers. Although he had a heart condition, he repeatedly said he was not going to do anything about it until Sue got taken care of. Unfortunately, Jim died suddenly in October of 2017.

In June of 2018, Sue went to the Scottsdale, AZ Mayo Clinic and was approved for a transplant there. As she was getting ready to move to Scottsdale until a donor was found, Sue developed encephalopathy and ended up in Methodist Hospital. After going back home, she continued to plan on going to AZ. But shortly after that, Sue fell, requiring an ambulance ride back to the hospital. The doctors told her the trip to AZ was off, as she was not stable. Thankfully, while Sue was in the hospital, a possible donor was found, and Sue ended up in Surgery in the early, early morning of July 26, 2018. Everything went well and Sue was released 8 days later to home. Many wonderful family members and friends helped Sue with her 24 hour care watch. She continued to recover and did very well for many years.

In September of 2025, Sue was diagnosed with inoperable endometrial carcinoma. She has many sessions of chemotherapy and radiation. ….

Sue is survived by her sons, Robert (Carrie) of Byron, Matthew (Dusty) of Eyota, and Steven of Baxter, MN, grandchildren Kaci Durrow, Katrina, Hunter Fink, Haley, Isaac, Charlie and Tyler, and great-grandchildren, Nora, Luella, Molly Jo and Everly Durrow, Avery Pries, and Eva and Oliver Sheldon Pries, sisters Ellen Gibb (Bill-deceased) of York, PA, and Joanne Heathman (Arlen) of Rochester, brothers, Ernie Hain (Janeane) and Ben Hain (Kelly), both of Rochester, many nieces and nephews, and in-laws.

Sue was preceded in death by her husband, Jim, her father, Joe, and mother, June, brother-in-law Frank Pries, brother-in-law Bill Gibb, and several aunts and uncles.

Sue’s Memorial Mass will be at 11:00am on Saturday March 7th, 2026 with a visitation beginning at 9:00am at Christ the King Catholic Church in Byron. The burial will be in the Byron Cemetery, at a later date.

Memorials are suggested to Christ the King Catholic Church of Byron, or the Byron American Legion.

Online memorials are welcome at www.byronfuneralhome.com