Feb. 19, 1963 – Feb. 23, 2022
Susan Marie Trout, loving mother of triplets, Henry, James, and Isabella, teacher, daughter, sister, and friend, passed away suddenly after a brief illness at her home in New York City. A champion of learning and education who thrived on exploring and mastering new skills, Susan led an extraordinary life.
Born in Greenwich, Susan was a youthful 59 years old. She attended Greenwich High School where she excelled in both academics and sports. Captain of the varsity field hockey team, she also lettered in tennis, which became a lifelong sport. She attended Barnard College, where she majored in East Asian Studies, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1985. An avid traveler, Susan lived in Taiwan, China, and France. Speaking four languages—Chinese, French, Italian and Spanish—she incorporated all of these cultures into her prolific gourmet cooking.
Following her passion for the stage, Susan teamed up with childhood friends Janet Bogardus and Joanna Heimbold to create “Instant Girl,” an acting, singing, and dancing comedy troupe. Between 1989 and 1997, they performed at numerous venues including Lincoln Center, the Public Theater, Naked Angels, MTV, PBS, and the Jon Stewart show. Ever the athlete, Susan was also a professional stuntwoman and appeared in movies, such as “The Big Night” and “Pollack,” and the TV show “Oz.”
Susan combined her extraordinary command of an audience with her love of learning to begin a second career as a teacher. Being an educator at heart, she earned a Masters in Early Adolescent Education from Bank Street College in 2000, followed by a Masters in Education School Building Leadership from Hunter College in 2018. For more than two decades she taught Humanities and Chinese at Booker T. Washington Middle School in New York City. Her love of reading and history made her an ideal Humanities teacher. In 2012, she expanded her pedagogy and returned to her love of the Chinese language and culture, creating a Mandarin curriculum at Booker T. Washington. For a decade, she guided her students as they learned to speak, read, and write in Chinese, while introducing them to the culture of China with trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Chinatown, and to her favorite restaurants in Flushing, Queens. Susan will be remembered as an advocate and mentor to all of her students. Her depth of experience and passion for life was part of every class she taught.
While she was an accomplished actor and teacher, Susan’s greatest joy in life was being the mother of her 19-year old triplets, Henry, James, and Isabella. Susan had an amazing ability to manage and embrace the chaos that comes with raising triplets, including getting three children into college simultaneously. She was extremely proud of them, as they were of her. She adored skiing, playing tennis, going on long hikes, and swimming with them in Maine.
Susan is predeceased by her father Jack Trout, who died in 2017. She is survived by her mother, Patricia Trout, a lifelong Greenwich resident; her husband, John Irwin, father of Henry, James, and Isabella; siblings Tim Trout, Joanne Trout, Nancy Trout, Christine Acton, and Peter Trout; brothers-in-law Peter Doelger and Andy Acton; sister-in-law, Carrie Dean; and countless nieces, nephews, students, and friends. Susan lived life to the fullest to her very last day. Her passion and humor will never be forgotten.
A service to celebrate her exceptional life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to MS54.org or hunter.cuny.edu/give and direct the donation to the adolescent education Chinese program.
