Susan Bayh

Not to be confused with Susan Bay.

Susan Lynne Bayh (/baɪ/ BY;^[2] November 28, 1959 – February 5, 2021) was an American attorney and First Lady of Indiana from 1989 until 1997. She was married to Evan Bayh, a Democratic Indiana politician, who served as the state's governor (1989–1997) and United States Senator (1999–2011).^[3]

Susan Bayh
First Lady of Indiana
In office January 9, 1989 – January 13, 1997
Governor	Evan Bayh
Preceded by	Mary Davis
Succeeded by	Judy O'Bannon
Personal details
Born	Susan Lynne Breshears[1] (1959-11-28)November 28, 1959[1] Los Angeles, California, U.S.[1]
Died	February 5, 2021(2021-02-05) (aged 61) McLean, Virginia, U.S.
Spouse	Evan Bayh ​ (m. 1985)​
Children	2
Education	University of California, Berkeley (BA) University of Southern California (JD)

A newspaper in Indiana described her as being engaged in a profession it termed "professional board member" or "professional director".^[4]

Career

Bayh began her careers in law and business as a litigator for the Los Angeles law firms of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and later for the Indiana firm of Barnes & Thornburg. In 1989, she joined the pharmaceutical division at the Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Company, managing the company's handling of federal regulatory issues.^[3] In 1994, she left the employ of Eli Lilly and taught at Butler University's College of Business Administration, holding the title of distinguished visiting professor.

An Indiana newspaper listed eight corporations of which Bayh was a director, as of 2006.^[4] Bayh began serving on corporate boards in 1994 and thereafter served on the boards of 14 corporations, including the insurance, pharmaceutical, and food processing industries.

Personal life

Bayh earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She was a past Miss Southern California and a member of Alpha Phi. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Southern California Law School in 1984.^[3] In her first year of law school, she won the American Jurisprudence Award for having the highest grade in her class in the Tort law class.

Bayh and her husband had twin sons, Birch Evans IV (Beau) and Nicholas, born in 1995.^[5]

In May 2018, Bayh underwent brain surgery to remove a malignant glioblastoma tumor.^[6][7][8] She died in McLean, Virginia, on February 5, 2021, at the age of 61.^[9]