Last November, eighth-grader Jonathan D'Cruz was reading The Golden Gazette, a free monthly newsletter for Fairfax County seniors that still arrives at his home for former residents. D'Cruz, who loves coding and reading, saw a call for ideas for future stories. That prompted the Thoreau Middle School student to email his neighbor, Susan Voss, saying she was the role model he wanted to be when he grew up.
“I've lived here most of my life, and she was always there,” D'Cruz said. That closeness prompted him to encourage the Gazette to write a story about his neighbor. “Voss is older, but she's always on the go, so I thought she'd be a great fit.”
At 91, Voss is as cheerful and active as ever. She spends her days gardening, volunteering, and, although she has recently turned over the heavy lifting to her son, she still enjoys sailing.
“I'm very lucky. I'm 91 and have no health problems, which is very unusual,” Voss said. “I take a walk every morning, and of course gardening is exercise.”
After her family settled in Vienna, Voss spent 13 years earning her undergraduate degree at George Mason University, then four more night studies toward a law degree at Georgetown University. She was grateful for the support of her husband and family, and did not retire until she was 80 years old.
“I didn't become a lawyer until I was 50, so the downside of waiting so long is that I don't peak until I'm 70, but I've been working part-time for the last five years or so,” Voss said. “I've always had a very positive attitude towards things. I like to be busy. If I have two hours left in the afternoon and I'm sitting here thinking, what am I going to do? I like to have something to do.”
Voss loved to travel from a young age. She accompanied her husband around the world when he was a diplomat working in the communications sector. The two married when Voss was 18 years old. Within two years, he was stationed in Baghdad, Iraq. Voss then visited Uruguay, Singapore, Panama, the Philippines and Germany. They settled in Virginia in 1972. After her husband died in 1994, Voss began traveling alone. Her favorite trips include camping to watch whales in Baja, being a crew member on a Singles on Sail boat in the Ionian Islands of Greece and, just before the pandemic, traveling to Patagonia, the southernmost tip of South America.
After he retired, Voss became an avid gardener, something he hadn't enjoyed much in his younger years.
“After I retired, I wanted to learn more so I took a master gardening class at Green Spring Gardens because I thought that would be a good way to do it, and it was,” Voss said.
She currently volunteers at Green Spring Gardens in a variety of roles, and Voss estimates she spends about eight hours a week on her garden and another eight on her duties at Green Spring, including working the silent auction and organizing art exhibits.
At first, gardening brought neighbors together: D'Cruz and her family would see Voss in the yard, and her mother, Shauna, would start asking her questions about gardening.
D'Cruz also enjoys his family's garden, which includes a cherry blossom tree that he asked for and was given as a birthday gift.
Voss sees her time at Green Spring as time well spent for herself: To give back to others in the community, she volunteers with the Committee to Help Others, where she runs a hotline once a month for people needing financial assistance, and answers phones at the Shepherd's Center once a week.
D'Cruz's mother, Shawna, credits Voss with getting her children interested in volunteering: For the past two years, they've packed food for the Food for Thought program at Marshall Elementary School, just down the road from their home.
The admiration between neighbors goes both ways: Vos believes D'Cruz is an extraordinary young man, a sentiment she makes frequently out of his earshot.
