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Susan Schrepfer Obituary
AGE: 72 • Highland Park
Susan Rita Schrepfer, 72, passed away at St. Peter's Hospital on Monday after a lengthy and stoic battle with cancer. Susan was the life companion of the late Edward Ortiz, and the daughter of the late Robert and Rita Schrepfer.
She is survived by her brother Steve and his wife Diane, her beloved daughters Amy and Cecilia, and her grandson, Kai. Susan was born in San Francisco in 1941 and grew up in Gilroy, California. Through hard work and picking prunes, she graduated from Gilroy High School and made her way to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she earned a bachelor's degree in History. She went on to earn a PhD in History from the University of California, Riverside. Susan was a college teacher in California and later a research associate with the Forest History Society in Santa Cruz, CA. where she began publishing her research in environmental journals. In 1974, she joined the history department at Rutgers University and found a true passion in teaching. A remarkable classroom teacher, she taught until the week of her death. Her specialties were environmental and frontier history, topics on which she published two unusually influential books, The Fight to Save the Redwoods, and Nature's Altars. Her Rutgers colleagues valued her friendship and wise counsel. Her dedication to her students showed both in her classes and in her creation of programs to support K-12 teachers in the state by providing significant professional development in topics related to History.
Susan also met her companion Edward at Rutgers. Together, the two of them traveled all around the west, hiking, visiting redwoods, and dipping their toes into the ocean. Susan loved to spend time with her daughters and she and Amy traveled twice to Italy in the last few years to enjoy the Alps, gelato, and the Mediterranean. She also spent time snorkeling with both of her daughters and her grandson in Maui.
A Memorial Gathering will be held at the Crabiel Parkwest Funeral Chapel, 239 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ on Friday, March 7, 2014 from 10-11am with a Funeral Service at 11:00am. Interment will follow at Elmwood Cemetery, New Brunswick. Calling hours will be at the family home from 1-4pm following the burial. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rutgers Oral History Project or the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Susan Schrepfer
Ron Becker
March 12, 2014
Farewell to a colleague and friend whose courage and dedication to teaching, scholarship, family, friends, and the environment will never be forgotten. Condolences to Susan's family and may her memory always be for a blessing.
Mallory Murphy
March 11, 2014
I had the pleasure of taking a few of your courses in my junior and senior years at Rutgers, and in addition to learning so much about history, I met a truly kind person. Thanks for all of your guidance Professor Schrepfer- will be truly missed by all who knew you.
John Chambers
March 6, 2014
Susan's death is such a tragic loss to us all—colleagues and students—at Rutgers. She was such a wonderful person, dear friend, true teacher and scholar. She showed such courage in her long struggle with cancer. I will never forget her. I miss her very much.
John Chambers
March 6, 2014
Susan's death is such a tragic loss to us all—colleagues and students—at Rutgers. She was such a wonderful person, dear friend, true teacher and scholar. She showed such courage in her long struggle with cancer. I will never forget her. I miss her very much.
John Chambers
March 6, 2014
Susan's death is such a tragic loss to us all--colleagues and students--at Rutgers. She was such a wonderful person, a dear friend, a true teacher and scholar. She was so courageous in her long battle with cancer. I shall never forget her. I miss her deeply.
Paula Thompson
March 6, 2014
Dave and I are so very sorry to hear of Susan's passing. We were only privileged to meet her once but we are so glad we did have that chance. She was a lovely and smart woman who cared very deeply for her family, her students, her work and the environment. Please accept our deepest sympathy.
March 5, 2014
Susan was asked to be my mentor when I arrived at Rutgers as a new faculty member. She helped me make wiser decisions many times. It has only been a few days since she left us, and already I miss her terribly. Camilla Townsend
Betsey Norland
March 5, 2014
Susan was my graduate advisor and chaired my dissertation committee. She had an extraordinary gift for bringing out the best in everybody, an example that has continued to inspire me long after graduate school. As we were the same generation and had children of more-or-less the same age, we shared mothering moments as well as academic work. Susan was especially supportive in every way. I am so grateful to have known her and to have benefitted from her gracious encouragement. She will be sorely missed.
David Foglesong
March 5, 2014
I am so sorry for your loss. Susan was kind and supportive of me both as a colleague and as a parent. She told me stories about raising her daughters to encourage and advise me on raising my son. Susan and I often shared memories of our native San Francisco Bay Area. My late wife was diagnosed with cancer around the same time as Susan was. I deeply admired how courageously Susan fought the cancer and returned to teaching. I feel her passing keenly. I will miss her warm spirit and her generous friendship.
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Crabiel Parkwest Funeral Chapel - New Brunswick239 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
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