Local attorney dies at 66

Photo courtesy GormanScharpf.com

Susan Appelquist worked at her family law firm for the majority of her career.

Susan Appelquist, an attorney who practiced law for four decades in Springfield and Mount Vernon, died Dec. 29. She was 66.

Appelquist’s obituary at GormanScharpf.com indicates she had a "fatal heart attack."

Appelquist worked as a trial attorney at her family law firm, Appelquist Law, for the majority of her career. When her father, John Appelquist, was appointed Greene County Circuit judge in 1983, she took over the practice.

Susan Appelquist earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Missouri, according to a newsletter issued by the Springfield Metropolitan Bar Association.

"Susan was a good student, and her early academic distinction was a precursor to the personal and professional standards maintained through a career spanning more than four decades," the newsletter reads.

For 10 years, Susan Appelquist was a member and vice chairperson of the Missouri Supreme Court Advisory Committee that oversees the state's attorney disciplinary system, according to her obituary.

A private memorial service is scheduled Jan. 11 at Gorman-Scharpf Brentwood Chapel, followed by a private burial at Hazelwood Cemetery.