Susan Strack Balding

On Dec. 2, 2025, Susan Strack Balding, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, artist, and matriarch, passed away. Her life was a long, generous act of love as well as a lesson in it—love expressed through beauty, intuition, presence, and the countless quiet ways she shaped the world around her for the benefit of others.

Born in St. Louis to Esther and Clarence H. Strack and raised in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, she grew up in a family where love was spoken freely and believed in fiercely. She was beloved by her older sister Nancy and younger brother Buddy. As a young woman she played the flute, became a majorette and cheerleader, and moved through the world with a radiance that drew people to her—an early sign of the magnetism she would carry throughout her life. Susan was incredibly close with her siblings and is remembered as an extraordinary and loving sister.

While studying at Southeast Missouri State University, she met Skip Radick. They were married in 1966 and had four children: Nancy, John, Jeffrey, and Jennifer. She raised her children with unwavering devotion, modeling the loving parenthood they would later embody with their own children.

In August 1981, she was remarried to Jeff Balding on a 114-degree day in Las Vegas. In 1993, Susan earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Fine Arts from the University of Illinois. Her multimedia paintings—textured and dimensional—were revered in art communities, displayed in exhibits including Chicago’s esteemed Art Coalition Gallery in February of 1993.

In 2003, Susan and Jeff moved West to Bozeman, Montana to be closer to their children and grandchildren. They also began another adventure in the mountains, purchasing a radio station, broadcasting rock music, weather, and community news from the summit of Lone Mountain in Big Sky. In addition to The Eagle 104.7, they later acquired KSCY 106.9 and KKQX 105.7. Susan was particularly concerned with the service portion of the station’s work, offering airtime, donations, and support to countless local causes.

She held a profound tenderness for animals, especially the fragile ones: aging dogs, skittish cats, the birds in her yard whose feeding she carefully orchestrated so each species had its chance. She had the instinct of someone who could feel a soul’s shape, whether human or animal, and respond to it with compassion.

Unsurprisingly, Susan was an exceptional aunt and grandmother. Just like her children, her grandchildren would call her frequently, pulled by the desire to hear her counsel, to hear how her garden tomatoes were faring, or simply to hear her say, “I love you with all my heart.” For all her kin, she is a model for selfless and life-giving love. This will be one of her greatest legacies.

She is survived by her husband, Jeff Balding; her children, Nancy Radick Butler, John Radick (Monique), Jeffrey Radick (Erin McHenry), and Jennifer Radick; her grandchildren, Samantha, Jacob and Alexandra Bierman, Isabella and Maxwell Butler, Jordan and Jenna Radick, Miles and Brenden Radick; and her siblings, Nancy Strack Abernathy and Clarence “Buddy” Strack.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Esther and Clarence H. Strack.

Her family will hold an intimate celebration of her life on Dec. 8, 2025, at Dahl Funeral Home. Memorial donations can be made to the Heart of the Valley Animal Shelter, honoring her lifelong devotion to living creatures and the beauty she nurtured in the world.