COLUMBUS
Petra Sussek Tungett, aged 62, passed away peacefully and surrounded by family at her home in Columbus, Indiana on August 25, 2024, following a rapidly progressing fight with dementia. She was preceded in death by her mother, Lore Brennberger Sussek. She is survived by her husband Michael Tungett, children Christopher Munt (Michael Russell), Katherine (Zachary) McDaniel, and Nikki Kinman, siblings Gabriele (Bernhard) Weippert, Sabine Sussek, and Andreas Sussek, as well as her grandchildren Harper McDaniel and Colton McDaniel.
Petra was born on December 19, 1961 in Boblingen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. After completing high school at Eichendorffschule in 1977, she went on to earn vocational degrees in accounting and finance, as well as human resources and office management in 1981. She moved to Columbus in 1984, where she completed a GED at Mabel McDowell Adult Education Center. Later in life, she continued her professional education, including maintaining a pharmacy technician license in Indiana and Kentucky for several years.
In the 1990s, she spent several years working at Elder-Beerman department store, where she excelled in customer service and human resources roles. In 1999 Petra began a long career with Walgreens, first at the Beam Road and then SR-46 locations in Columbus, Indiana. She later moved to Elizabethtown, Kentucky where she opened several stores in the Kentuckiana region and then served as store manager at the Bardstown Road location. She retired in 2019 and moved back to Columbus.
Throughout her life, Petra loved traveling, gardening, caring for her cats and dogs, and reading. She prided herself on her strong work ethic and she always strived to leave things better than she found them, whether that meant staying late to tidy up at work or embarking on a new home improvement project. She enjoyed cooking, hosting gatherings and being surrounded by friends and neighbors. As she approached her 50th birthday, she took up running and went on to complete several marathons. Perhaps most of all, she loved spending time with (and spoiling) her grandchildren.
A celebration of life honoring Petra will be held on Friday, August 30, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. at Barkes, Weaver &Glick Funeral Home on Washington Street with Pastor Paul Rogers officiating. Visitation will be from 3:00 p.m. until the time of service Friday at the funeral home. A live stream of the celebration of life may be viewed Friday at 6:00 p.m. at barkesweaverglick.com. Memorial contributions may be made to Our Hospice of South Central Indiana.
Online condolences and special memories may be shared with Petra’s family and a video tribute may be viewed at barkesweaverglick.com.
