Susan Hughes was never seen, but her death, sometime prior to 1956, left a void in the Hughes family that would remain for several years. The oldest daughter of Chris and Nancy Hughes, the teenaged Susan was killed in a freak accident while diving into a swimming pool during a violent thunderstorm. Susan's death left Nancy heartbroken and a depressed Nancy could be heard asking "Why Susan?" , inadvertently leading her younger daughter, Penny, to think Nancy loved Susan more than her. Susan's death also led Nancy to be very protective of her remaining children, some would say overly so. That over-protectiveness would cause Nancy to be very critical of the romantic interests of her children. However, as the years went by, Nancy came to terms with her daughter's death, and because of her experience losing a child, she was able to comfort her former daughter-in-law, Lisa, when her youngest son died.