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Condolences:
Herman Wood
We were very fortunate to be hosted by your family at the 1735 House long ago. They were always very gracious. The same grace & welcome as extended when we later stayed at Elizabeth Point just aa few years before we relocated to Amelia Island. It was beyond good fortune when I found Susan as a massage therapist. I always looked forward to conversation with her during a session and hearing about her history here and about her life experiences, especially when she shared about her family. Our community was much richer because of her and her family!
Connie Adams
Susan was a wonderful women and I was fortunate to have known her. She and I lived on South Fletcher and were pregnant about the same time together; her with Katie and myself with my son John. I remember Susan and David were just starting out with the Inn and a pregnant Susan would climb up on the roof of the Inn and help with repairs. She was always brave and adventurous. She will be missed.
Christina van Hengel
One of the things I always admired about Susan was her deep sense of faith. She was an inspiring force; stoic, disciplined, and strong, with real integrity. At the same time she had a quiet whimsy and charming wit that would sneak up on you. You didn’t have to talk to Susan long to understand how special she is, and how much she loved her daughter Beth Anne. Susan lived and led a beautiful life, spreading goodness, faith and love while exploring so much of what this earth has to offer. With all my love and profound sympathy, Christina
Eric Moulton
Rob Calija
Michelle Berry
Susan healed my body, quieted my mind and soothed my soul. I was blessed to get know her outside of the client/massage therapist relationship. She was such an interesting person, kind and caring . I will miss her. My condolences to her family.
Michele Holbrook
Susan was an amazing soul and loved by so many. She will be missed and our community.
Chris Hendrix
Our paths crossed many times throughout the years. Most recently, we had meaningful conversations about past, present and future. I will always remember Susan as a rich conversationalist open to exploring perspectives from a variety of angles. Her courage and devotion inspires me to live large and intentionally.
Marianne Crowley & Ed Bogush
Haleigh McCarthy
Susan, thank you for making a place for me during holidays when I wasn’t with my family. You were always so welcoming and made me feel like I was a part of the Caples clan. Thank you for not calling Beth Anne and I out for being so incredibly stoned at Christmas dinner and smelling like snoop dog after we hot boxed the bathroom.
Alexandria Williams
John bogush
Such a wonderful person, role model, and leader in the Fernandina Community. Very happily to have known Mrs Caples
Jan Spotswood formerly Higginbotham
I always loved David and Susan Caples when they bought the 1735 house as a bed and breakfast in they really started the bed and breakfast industry in Fernandina. Susan and I were able to speak on the phone on a 2 weeks ago about and she told me about the fact that she was going to be passing on and how much we loved each other and that was the most wonderful gift I could have gotten from her and I just want to tell everyone that she as you know was just perfect person
Barry Adeeb
Ray & Marcia Cline
Our condolences. I first met David & Susan when traveling to Fernandina in the early 1980s. Then got better acquainted after my job transfer in 1987 and especially thru association with the YMCA. The Caples family has certainly been a fixture in the community.
Margo Story
My sincere condolences......Susan was a gentle soul. May the eternal light shine upon her.
R. Marie Rizzo Fenn
Dar Bethanne, Our sincere and deepest condolences on the loss of your wonderful mother; Susan and i have been friends since the early 1980s when i first started traveling to Amelia Islandn from Connecticut. She took good care of me a woman traveling alone and she helped me in ways i cannot describe. from hosting a fincky Board of Directors, to hosting my sons wedding brunch to helping with spiritual healing. i loved her deep faith and the devotion to their chidlren and to the community. I can't say enough about their work ethic, which is omething highly prized in my family. Your talents and enterpreneurship is just a "chip off then old Block" My heart goes out to you, your wonbeautifuul son and your husband whom i know , along with you, all gave her great joy. There is os much more to say, but just know she was loved so much that words cannot express.
Dickie Anderson
Dave and Susan a very special community leaders. Elizabeth Point a great addition to Amelia Island. The Katie Ride a wonderful memory!
Jim and Nancy Mayo
Susan was an intelligent and considerate woman. She had such a calm demeanor in every thing that she did. We would often see she and David late in some restaurant continuing their neverending card gane. They never said but I always thought Susan was winning. Certainly in this Human race, Susan was one of the winners. We'll miss her.
Barbara Thrift
Cervera Ferreira Burgess
My sincere condolences.
Susan Mullaney Caples
2025-12-10
Susan Mullaney Caples, 78, of Fernandina Beach, Fla., died Wednesday, Dec. 10, peacefully at home surrounded by family.
Born and raised in Philadelphia, she graduated from Mount St. Joseph Academy in 1965 and earned a degree in education from West Chester University.
In 1979, she and her husband, David Caples, moved to Fernandina Beach and opened a small inn, The 1735 House, on South Fletcher Avenue. Together, they later built and operated The Elizabeth Pointe Lodge, where Susan became a beloved fixture in the community. Over the course of her life, she pursued many careers, including teaching physical education and working with students with special needs.
Closest to her heart was co-founding the Katie Caples Foundation and the Katie Ride for Life following the loss of her eldest daughter. Through the foundation, Susan and her family helped raise awareness of organ donation nationwide, while raising funds that saved lives. The foundation continues to award scholarships to students in need of financial assistance at Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville.
After retiring from innkeeping, she fulfilled a lifelong dream by becoming a licensed massage therapist and life coach, continuing her active involvement in the community. In the last five years of her life, she traveled extensively, both independently and with family, finding herself in far-flung places. She explored ancient Egyptian tombs, sailed the archipelagos of French Polynesia, swam the cool waters of the Aegean Sea, and wandered the mossy grounds of her ancestors’ lands in western Ireland.
Susan is survived by her daughter, Beth Anne, and grandchildren Landis, Kate and Ella.
A viewing will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16, at Oxley-Heard Funeral Home with a Vigil Service beginning at 6:30 PM. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at noon Wednesday, Dec. 17, at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Fernandina Beach, followed by a reception at Cafe Karibo.
She will be laid to rest alongside her husband, David, and daughter, Katie, at Bosque Bello Cemetery at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Katie Caples Foundation.
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