Susan Harling Robinson inspired Steel Magnolias, the film and play based on her life, and her story reflects the strength and indomitable spirit associated with Southern women. Raised in Natchitoches, she learned at age twelve that she was diabetic and immediately insisted that her illness would not stand in the way of anything. She served as a candy striper at Natchitoches Parish Hospital, sang in the First Presbyterian Church choir, directed the Youth Choir, and was active at Natchitoches Central High, where she played flute in the band and performed as a majorette, twirling batons to the music of Hawaii Five-0. Wanting to follow her mother Margaret Harling into nursing, she graduated from Natchitoches High, attended Northwestern State University, joined the Kappa Iota chapter of Phi Mu, and later graduated from the NSU School of Nursing. She became a pediatric nurse in Shreveport, where she loved caring for babies and dreamed of a large family. There she met pediatrician Patrick Robinson, and they married in 1979. Despite warnings about the dangers pregnancy posed because of her severe diabetes, she remained determined to have children, and in February of 1983 she and Patrick had a son, Robert, who was born three months premature but survived. The pregnancy caused Susan's kidneys to fail, and when she needed a transplant to resume her career and continue caring for her family, her mother donated a kidney. The transplant did not succeed, complications followed, and Susan died in October of 1985. Throughout hardship she valued laughter, kindness, compassion, and the support of her community, and she cherished the heritage and beauty of Natchitoches.