Suzanne Crossly and the Family Bonds That Shaped Her Life

The Woman Behind a Familiar Family Name

I begin Suzanne Crossly’s story with her fuller name, Suzanne Kelly Crossley. Crossly is a variant spelling often used when people search for Megyn Kelly’s older sister. Crossley was the spelling used by her family. She was born on 5 June 1964 in Nyack, New York, and died on 21 October 2022 at 58.

Her life included teaching, motherhood, recovery, humour, and difficult years. I find the most revealing details in the ordinary family memories: a fierce game of gin rummy, an imaginative craft project, a sister finding a way to help when money was scarce. These details give shape to a person whose life was mostly lived outside public attention.

Parents and Childhood in New York

Suzanne was the first child of Edward Francis Kelly and Linda A. Kelly, whose maiden name was DeMaio. Her brother Peter arrived about thirteen months later. Megyn Marie Kelly was born on 18 November 1970, roughly six and a half years after Suzanne.

The family lived in the Syracuse area before moving to the Albany region when Megyn was about nine. Suzanne was then about fifteen or sixteen. Delmar later became closely associated with the family.

Edward worked in education at the State University of New York at Albany. Linda studied and worked toward qualifications in psychiatric nursing while raising the children. During those busy years, Suzanne often helped prepare Megyn for school.

I see that early responsibility as a thread running through the sisters’ relationship. Suzanne was a sibling, but Megyn also remembered her as something close to a second mother, helping with shoes, reading, and the small mysteries of growing up.

A Sister and a Family Caretaker

Suzanne’s maternal grandmother, Frances DeMaio, was affectionately known as Nana. Summers at Nana and Pop’s boatyard became part of the sisters’ shared memory, alongside games, television programmes, and treats.

Their father died of a heart attack on 15 December 1985 at 45. Suzanne, born in June 1964, was 21. Some retellings give her age as 22, but the dates place her a few months short of that birthday. She woke fifteen year old Megyn with the devastating news.

Suzanne later returned to college and was educated at SUNY Oneonta. Her exact degree and graduation year are not established. She became a teacher, married, and eventually left teaching to concentrate on homemaking.

One memory Megyn shared concerns $20 for petrol during her law school years. Suzanne was newly married and had little to spare, yet helped her younger sister. I find the amount meaningful precisely because it was small. Generosity is not always measured by the size of the gift.

Children and the Extended Household

Suzanne raised three children: Christopher, Brian, and Emily Crossley. Her marriage ended under circumstances Megyn described as very difficult, and she carried much of the responsibility for bringing them up.

I would not assign Brom to a particular parent without explicit confirmation. Likewise, Suzanne’s former husband’s first name and the dates of the marriage and divorce remain unknown.

Linda later married Peter T. Kirwan II, adding stepfamily connections including Paul and Liza Kirwan. Peter Kirwan died on 28 March 2023, several months after Suzanne. Megyn’s husband, author Douglas Brunt, was Suzanne’s brother in law. Their three children, Yates, Yardley, and Thatcher, were her nephews and niece.

Recovery and the Difficulty of Rebuilding

Megyn publicly described Suzanne’s addiction as beginning after a pain prescription in the mid 1990s, when Suzanne was living in Virginia as a teacher and homemaker. That account belongs to Megyn’s recollection of her sister’s experience. It should not become an invented medical history.

She also said Suzanne achieved sobriety and remained sober for many years. Rebuilding still proved difficult. Employment barriers and the consequences of the earlier addiction continued to affect her opportunities.

I consider recovery an important part of the portrait. Reducing her life to addiction would erase the years that followed, her responsibilities as a parent, and the humour her family continued to remember. Suzanne had wanted to discuss her experience publicly in the hope of helping others, but that planned conversation never took place.

No reliable figure establishes her income, estate, or net worth. Megyn described financial hardship, especially while Suzanne was raising her children. Those descriptions support a picture of struggle without supplying a financial balance sheet.

October 2022 and the Family Remembrances

Suzanne experienced recurring health problems in her final years. Her family believed she was improving after a hospital stay, but Linda found her unresponsive on 21 October 2022. She was taken to hospital and died after a heart attack, with relatives present.

Megyn announced the death on 24 October and gave a longer tribute on 27 October. The funeral was held on 25 October. Services were private.

The family’s suggested remembrance was unusually personal: make a Christmas ornament with a child or grandchild, or give to a charity. I think the ornament captures something of Suzanne’s creative side. It offers a small object through which a family can preserve time spent together.

FAQ

Was Suzanne Crossly Megyn Kelly’s sister?

Yes. Suzanne Kelly Crossley was Megyn’s older full sister. Crossly is a spelling variant, while Crossley was the family’s spelling.

When was Suzanne born?

She was born on 5 June 1964 in Nyack, New York. She grew up in the Syracuse and Albany regions.

How many children did she have?

She had three children, Christopher, Brian, and Emily Crossley. Brom Crossley was her publicly named grandson.

What work did she do?

She worked as a teacher before becoming a homemaker. Her specific teaching employers, subjects, and college degree are not publicly established.

When did Suzanne Crossley die?

She died on 21 October 2022 at 58. Later claims of a 2025 death or a different married surname do not match her family’s established account.