Susan Scott Ringler, 65, of Tempe, Arizona passed away from lymphoma on Wednesday, October 13th in her home surrounded by her family.
She was born and raised in Syracuse, NY and obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing from SUNY Plattsburgh in 1978. In August of 1978 she married Gary V. Ringler and relocated to Tempe, AZ to begin a career in psychiatric nursing.
After the births of her three children, Sue’s passions soon turned to issues of peace and social justice. Sue encouraged the family to participate in “Parenting for Peace and Justice” and soon began looking for ways to be a model of faith in action for her children. In 1987 Sue developed the concept for and founded Paz de Cristo Community Center, initially an interfaith ministry of St. Timothy’s Catholic Community. What had modest beginnings as a soup kitchen expanded to provide other essential services for the poor and working poor and is still operating today. While serving as Director of Operations for Tempe Community Action Agency, she co-created and coordinated the Interfaith Housing Emergency Lodging Program (I-HELP) which, with the aid of local churches and volunteers, continues to provide a safe place to sleep and a hot meal seven nights a week for adults experiencing homelessness.
A woman of faith, she worked as a Liturgy Coordinator for St. Timothy’s Catholic Community and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. This led Sue to answer the call to parish ministry. She was then ordained as a Catholic Priest through the United Catholic Church. Sue served as pastor of Guardian Angels Catholic Community in Tempe, joined the Ecumenical Catholic Communion in 2010 and continued her work in social justice and interfaith ministry as a leader in the Tempe Interfaith Fellowship. Eventually she was called to obtain a degree in Interfaith Ministry from The New Seminary in New York, NY and was ordained as an Interfaith minister in June of 2011.

Sue’s numerous contributions to her community resulted in her being honored with many honors and awards including the Don Carlos Humanitarian Award and being designated as a “Tempe Treasure.”
Sue was also a treasure to her family. A devoted mother, Sue enjoyed spending time with her children, whether here in Arizona with her daughter Leslie and grandchildren Louisa and Ramona, in New York with her son Alex, or the numerous cities in which her daughter Katie and son-in-law Eric have lived. Sue enjoyed an active lifestyle and spent many an early morning walking and working out with her friends. Most evenings, if Sue wasn’t keeping the fight on for social justice through work and/or protest, she enjoyed relaxing or playing trivia with her loving husband Gary, with whom she just celebrated 43 years of marriage.
Sue is also survived by her siblings, Amy Dint, Donald Scott, Wendy Tilton, Matt Scott, her dog Ghita and her kitties Tiger and Pita.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Women4Women Tempe (https://women4womentempe.org/…) A public memorial will be held at Daley Park on Saturday 10/30/21 from 10AM-1PM (1625 S. College Avenue, Tempe, AZ 85281). In honor of Sue, tie-dye dress code is highly encouraged.