Susan Hund-Milne, longtime member of the National Federation of Press Women, was a gentle, soft-spoken and seemingly simple woman who would be pleased with this summary from her obituary: “(She) was lucky to live a very full life and spent retirement doing everything she loved: traveling, attending the 1st Unitarian Universalist Church, gardening, and being one hell of a Grandma.”
Susan Hund-Milne
However, Susan also was an activist at heart who challenged the patriarchy and status quo throughout her life. She participated in campus anti-war protests as a student at Wichita State University and helped establish and write for the “Free Press,” Wichita’s underground newspaper from 1968-1970. She traveled to Chicago to protest the Vietnam Conflict at the 1968 DNC convention and, after earning her journalism degree, moved to San Francisco during the counterculture movement.
After moving back to Wichita, marrying and starting a family, she wrote many articles about the city’s history for “The Westside Story,” a local newspaper, and eventually bought the paper. She also researched, wrote and co-published “Spotlight on Wichita,” a longtime popular resource. Her journalism career netted her awards from the Kansas Professional Communicators and NFPW, among other organizations.
She was active in WPC for many years, serving twice as president (1997, 2011) and program coordinator (2008) and at-large on the board for several years. She was active in her church for more than 30 years. Susan is survived by her sister, Jeannie Hund; brother, Ron Hund; husband, Rod Milne; son Jesse Milne (Kym); and grandchildren Regan and Layne Milne.
A celebration of Susan’s life will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 19, at First Unitarian Universalist Church, 7202 E. 21st St. N., Wichita, KS, with refreshments afterward. All friends are welcome.
WPC plans to honor Susan with a book memorial at the Wichita Public Library.
– Shannnon Littlejohn, WPC historian