Biography:

Suzzane Turinsky Watts (84), better known to many as Gangie, passed from this life on May 24th, 2021 surrounded by her loved ones. She was born on July 13th, 1937 in Tulsa, Oklahoma to the late Iva Turinsky. She was preceded in death by her husband Richard L. Watts, her brother Al Turinsky, and her best friends in the entire world, Aggie and Charlene. She is survived by her daughters Julia Benton (husband Darrell), Adriene Watts Rainey, grandchildren Richard Cooper (wife Ivy Cooper), Samuel Cooper, Katie Rainey, Roy Rainey, Elizabeth Casteel (husband Sean Casteel), and Julian Moncho, as well as two great grandchildren, many dear friends, and numerous adopted children and grandchildren throughout the years.

Suzie was, more than anything in this life, a creator. She was a maker, a builder, a true artist through and through. Her mind never stopped turning over ideas and inventing new projects. She began her artistic career as a ballet dancer in high school and danced with various companies over the years. Later, she transitioned to visual arts and loved nothing more than to spend the midnight hours in her workshop sculpting delicate fairies out of rusted metal or building sets for her grandchildren’s school plays. Her backyard was something kin to Neverland with ponds and sculptures she built and beds of ivy and flowers she planted. Suzie brought magic into each and every life she touched and will be dearly missed by all who knew her. We love you, Gangie.

A Memorial Celebration will be held at Ruebel Funeral Home in Little Rock on Friday, May 28th from 5-7pm. In true Suzie fashion, we will have food, drinks, laughter, and art-making to celebrate the life of such an incredible woman. So if you were lucky enough to experience even a little of Gangie’s magic, we’d love to spend the evening with you. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Out of the Woods Animal Rescue of Arkansas because there wasn’t a dog Suzie couldn’t fall in love with.