Dr. Susan Belson

Dr. Susan Belson, 71, of Valdosta, died on Friday, November 4, 2022, at Fellowship Home after a period of declining health. Born in Hagerstown, MD to Frances Gimbel Syfrett and the late Edward Jaquelin Ware, the family soon moved to south Florida where Susan grew up. She graduated from Riviera Beach High School where she excelled in many subjects. While tutoring Chemistry, she met Joe Belson, and the two soon began dating. After Susan graduated, she went to Mercer University to continue her studies. Joe followed her there the next year and they were married at age 19 in 1970. She graduated from Mercer University with a Bachelor of Science and continued on to medical school at the Medical College of Georgia, where in 1973, she was one of three female students in her medical school class. After Susan graduated as an Medical Doctor, the family moved to the Orlando area where she completed her residency in Pathology and had their only child Joey(Joe). Dr. Belson served central Florida for nearly a decade before the Belson’s moved to Valdosta in 1987 where she joined Doctors Lab. She helped Doctors Lab grow and expand throughout the 90s with her work as a Pathologist and Lab Director. Then in 2000 at the age of 49 she decided to give up medicine and go to law school. After graduating from Mercer University School of Law in 2003 with her JD, Susan returned to Valdosta and practiced law for several years, first at the District Attorney’s office, then independently before her retirement due to early onset Alzheimer's. She was cared for by her husband and best friend until his death in 2018. Susan loved her family, was never afraid to try new things and push herself and her favorite pastime was traveling the world with her mother.

Survivors include her son, Joe(y) Belson, of Valdosta; two grandchildren, Adam and Elizabeth Belson, both of Valdosta; her mother Frances Syfrett of Okeechobee, FL; two sisters, Jacquelin Crew and Libby Ware, both of Atlanta and her brother Yhonatan Gimbel of Sebring, FL. Also surviving are several nieces, nephews and cousins. She is preceded in death by her husband, Joe Belson and her father, Jack Ware.

A reception in Susan’s honor will be held at Park Place by McLane on Monday, November 7, 2022 from 4 until 6 pm. Donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.act.als.org or to Hospice of South Georgia, at www.hospiceofsouthgeorgia.org. Condolences may be conveyed to the family on the obituary page at www.mclanecares.com

Carson McLane Funeral Home