On Aug. 8, 2025, former first lady Sue Spellman, who was the wife of former Lindenwood president Dennis Spellmann, passed away.
Alongside her husband, Sue was a very dedicated servant to all of Lindenwood University. According to Interim Associate Provost Christie Rodgers, Sue never tried to get into the limelight, but her level of service to the institution was always in a supportive way.
“When Dr. Spellmann came to Lindenwood, there were financial struggles with the institution. When he was made president, he worked very hard to try to get the institution back in good financial straits, so we could be sustainable. Sue was a big part of that,” Rodgers said. “She would come in and volunteer her time. Sue wasn’t really a paid employee, but she would come in and help checks that came in for donations, she would be responsible for opening them, logging them in, and giving them to the business office as part of our donations and building up that part of the institution. She spent some of her time doing that and of course she spent a lot of time at events that Dr. Spellmann would attend as well.”
According to Rodgers, there was once a time when Dr. Spellmann and his secretary all had to partake in a board meeting, along with preparing for it all that day. Rodgers was asked to cover all of the phone calls for them in the presidential suite. It was a while before Rodgers was able to have her lunch. But eventually, Sue came in and offered to substitute for Rogers on the phone so she could take her lunch.
There was also a time when Dr. Spellmann had a procedure going on, so he wasn’t back at work but was still working. There were workers, including Rodgers, who had to go and do reports for him. Sue had to trace through the President’s House in assistance to Dr. Spellmann, and coming in, working, and talking with Dr. Spellmann during his time of recovery. But whether offering if there was anything she could get for a coworker, even if that coworker may have needed just something to drink, Sue always assured everyone and everything was well taken care of.
“I don’t believe that Dr. Spellmann could’ve had this success he had without having that support from his partner, and she did a lot,” Rodgers said. “Her daughter, her then son-in-law, her grandson, all of those folks worked for the institution. She was happy to let them be the leaders in the things that they were doing, in addition to her husband being President, and her being more behind the scenes, but a really strong support to that. I think the folks she supported were stronger because of her support.”
Sue enjoyed serving in a number of roles as a whole, including helping new students at the orientations, teaching in the English as a Second Language Center, and organizing students moving into the President’s House when the university was out of housing. She was never interested in the recognition, only the results. Whether it was in offering her time, talents, or treasure, Sue was always very committed to meeting students where they were and supporting them in any way that she could.
“Sue was the consummate supporter of all things Lindenwood, whether it was cleaning and painting trailers during the summer, helping students find a winter coat, or planning community fundraisers for scholarships. She would do it all, always looking for new ways to help,” Webster International Executive Vice President and former Lindenwood Vice President of Student Development and Global Affairs Ryan Guffey said. “Often, she would walk the campus with her yellow Labrador, “Lindy”, asking students how their studies were going, including offering praise, individualized attention, and sometimes tough love.”
Overall, Lindenwood was a very special place for Sue Spellmann. Sue served as first lady of Lindenwood University from 1989-2006, alongside her husband as president. During the time range, Lindenwood started with less than 500 students, but eventually grew to 15,000. Guffey and many other staff members feel she was equally as critical to the success of Lindenwood as Dr. Spellmann, and were very grateful for Sue’s contributions to the university during her time at Lindenwood as a whole.
“The one thing I would emphasize about Sue is that sometimes you meet people in life who live for recognition or to make money, but when you have the chance to meet people who live to make a difference, it really is something quite special,” Guffey said. “She was the type of person who woke up and never once thought about making more money, she never once thought about self-promotion, she really thought about the ways that she could make an impact on people’s lives. Through her opportunities at Lindenwood, she tried to make the most of every one of those.”
