"She Really Was the Best Mom": Susan Bayh's Twins Remember Indianapolis E! news

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When Susan Bayh lay in her hospice bed, she found it difficult to open her eyes. One of her twin sons, Beau, sat next to her and held her hands, but when she looked up at him, her beautiful blue eyes fixed on his.

And although she can't speak, her son said, Susan Bayh kept saying the words "I love you, Beau".

Beau Bayh shared the story at a memorial service for his mother on Saturday at Trinity Episcopal Church. As the Bench Hoosiers dried their eyes, Beau and his brother Nicholas discussed their mother's resilience after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and her lifelong commitment to family and friends.

Since February: Former Indiana First Lady Susan Bayh dies at the age of 61 after a long battle with a brain tumor

"She really was the best mother a son could ever want," said Beau Bayh. "I miss her more than I can say."

And, according to Nicholas Bayh, she was primarily dedicated to her two children.

Then he looked at his father, former Senator Evan Bayh. "I'm sorry, Daddy," Nicholas said with a laugh from the 200 present.

The former first lady of Indiana passed away on February 5th . He was 61 years old.

A monument in a special place

The Bayh family waited a few months to hold their funeral services due to COVID-19 precautions. Those in attendance were asked to continue to wear masks during the service and to refrain from singing hymns. The harmony of an eight-member choir away from the mourners always filled the church.

The passage of time has helped calm Bayh's sadness at the memorial. They could spend more time focusing on their love memories.

From the "blind date" to tender times in the middle of cancer: The love story of Susan and Evan Bayh

Although the pain continues, Evan Bayh said the family wanted his wife's memorials to be a celebration of her life, a reflection of the woman as she lived. "She was such a happy and positive person," Evan Bayh told IndyStar on Friday.

Susan Bayh's professional and personal accomplishments are long. She practiced as a lawyer, was active in countless committees, supervised students and founded a charity that, among other things, helps with adult literacy. But her 35-year-old husband will also cherish the memories of the past three years.

With the pain and discomfort of cancer who had to undergo surgery in 2018 to remove a glioblastoma tumor in her brain, Susan Bayh's mood of joy continued. He wouldn't complain about the pain or the circumstances; Instead, she insisted that she was lucky enough to be surrounded by three men who loved her until the end.

"In a world of too much cynicism and apathy," said Evan Bayh at his memorial service on Saturday, "she was the opposite of both."

The Saturday service location is a special place for the Bayh family. Trinity Episcopal is where they attended church while Evan was governor of Indiana. His two terms in office ran from 1989 to 1997.

The church is also where your children were baptized two months after they were born. Hoosiers watched the governor and first lady of Indiana raise the children in public; his birth made headlines on the Indianapolis Star in November 1995 (the headline read "Rock-A-Bayh Babies").

Evan Bayh, who also served two terms as US Senator from 1999 to 2011, recalls when the family of four sat in the back seat with other young families. Nicholas and Beau were little children back then, and sometimes Evan or Susan had to leave the service for a few moments with the little twins.

In attendance on Saturday included Governor Eric Holcomb, former Senator Joe Donnelly, former MP Lee Hamilton and Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, as well as former and current Indiana First Ladies: Janet Holcomb, Karen Pence and Cheri Daniels. (Former Governor Mitch Daniels, now President of Purdue University, was returning home in West Lafayette.)

Political battles put aside

The Bayhs held a separate memorial service Wednesday in Washington, DC, at the National Cathedral where Evan and Susan were married. Services for Evan's mother, Marvella Bayh, were held here in 1979.

Participants on Wednesday included former Vice President Mike Pence and his brother, Rep. Greg Pence, as well as Senator Dan Coats, who held the same Senate seat before and after Evan Bayh, and Senator Todd Young, who defeated Bayh for the Senate seat. in the 2016 elections.

Past political battles were set aside in honor of Susan Bayh.

"In times of adversity," Evan Bayh told IndyStar, "the Hoosiers are united."

Conclude. Joe Biden, a longtime friend of the Bayh family, also spoke at the memorial Wednesday and spent time with the family before the service. The president lost his son, Beau, to the same illness that killed Susan.

In addition to Evan, Nicholas and Beau, Susan Bayh leaves behind her father Bob Breshears and her stepmother Kathy Breshears; his brother Bob Breshears Jr .; and her sisters Linda Marcus and Ann Lesh.

"Take care of our children"

It leaves a legacy that will last.

After Saturday's funeral, Mayor Hogsett announced plans for an outdoor classroom at Holliday Park to honor his memory. The classroom with a capacity of 50 people will have an open-air lobby and gardens in the nature center of the park.

Much of the planning and fundraising, Evan Bayh said, was led by two of his wife's closest friends: Barbara Glass and Amy Peterson. The two women also took part in the commemoration.

Evan Bayh said the classroom was a fitting tribute to his wife, who was very concerned about providing education for young people.

An Indiana University scholarship is also named after Evan and Susan Bayh.

Perhaps most importantly, his legacy can be found in his two sons, who wore formal military attire at the memorial on Saturday.

Twenty-five years have passed since the two were baptized in Trinity.

"I was so determined that Beau and Nick would see their God-given potential and always do their best," said Evan Bayh. "Here you are, beautiful young men who wear their nation's uniforms and speak movingly about their mother. "

Beau Bayh is an officer in the United States Marine Corps. He plans to take a year off from Harvard Law School to work on a special project with the Army's drone programs.

Nicholas Bayh is a United States Army Reserve intelligence officer who graduated from Harvard Business School.

Before Susan Bayh's death, she was able to complete her two sons' officer training.

Evan Bayh told a different story on Memorial Saturday about the bond between his children and their mother. While his wife was in the hospital, Beau brought a stuffed animal that made him feel better and better as a child. And Nicholas stayed by her side, stroking her hair as he stroked his once.

"His last request of me," said Evan Bayh to the crowd on Saturday, doing his best to hold back tears, "is that I take care of our children."

When he had finished speaking, he walked away from the pulpit, stood in front of his two sons in the front row, and hugged them both.

IndyStar reporters Tim Evans and Amelia Park-Harvey contributed to this story.

Contact IndyStar Investigative Reporter Ryan Martin at ryan.martin@indystar.com or by phone, Signal, or WhatsApp at 317-500-4897. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter: @ryanmartin .

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