She was born in Portsmouth, Ohio to George J. and Frances H. Schirrman. Her first husband, Dr. Paul McWhorter, died in 1997. In July 2003 she married Robert G. VanStryland.

Suzanne held BS and MBA degrees from the University of Arkansas and a Ph.D. in finance from Ohio State University, the first such degree awarded to a woman in the United States. Prior to joining the faculty of the college of Business Administration at UNT (along with her late husband) she taught at the University of  Arkansas , Ohio State University, and Texas Technological University. While on the UNT faculty, she was also a consulting technical editor for Holt Rinehart and Random House.

Dr. McWhorter served as president of the Gamma Sigma and was a member of the American Marketing Association and the International Bar Association. She served on the board of the fine Arts Society of Texas, was a founding member of the Denton Benefit League, the Greater Denton Arts Council and the Arts Guild and was a founding member and past president of the Denton Panhellenic Association and the Denton Chapter of the Delta Delta Alumnae Association. She also belonged to the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Dallas Symphony League, the Fort Worth Opera Guild, the Denton Country Club, and the Petroleum Club of Fort Worth .She was listed in the Who's Who in America, Who's Who of American Woman, and the National Social Directory.

In 1970, Texas governor Preston Smith appointed her to the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women in Texas and to a six member subcommittee, chaired by Judge Sarah Hughes, which wrote the Women's Rights Amendment to the State of Texas Constitution (ratified in 1972).

A life-long member of the Presbyterian Church, she attended St. Andrews Presbyterian Church while living in Denton. She was an Avid art collector, bridge player, and world  traveler. In 2004, she received an award from Cunard Shipping Lines in honor of her fiftieth year of sailing on all four of Cunard's "Queens"

She was preceded in death by her parents, her son James Paul McWorter, her daughter Mary Lee McWorter, her first husband Paul McWhorter and her brother George J. Schirrman IV. She is survived by her husband Robert G. VanStryland, her niece Kimberly S. Rook of Lake Wylie, South Carolina, two grandnephews also of Lake Wylie and her nephews Scott, Lance and Brett Schirrman of Florida.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Mulkey-Mason Funeral Home 705 north Locust St. Denton, Texas 76201. Visitation will be 7 to 8 pm Wednesday March 4, 2009 at the Funeral Home. The funeral will be 2 pm Thursday March 5, 2009 at the Mulkey-Mason Chapel. A private burial  will be held after the funeral service