Sonia Samudio Piepenburg

Sonia Samudio Piepenburg, age 86, of North Ridgeville, Ohio passed away on September 26, 2025. She was born on January 4, 1939 in Barranquilla, Colombia to the late Arturo and Blanca Samudio. Sonia will be remembered as a smart, loving, warm-hearted, funny and fiercely independent woman. As a teenager, she immigrated to the United States to go to high school at St. Joseph's Academy on Long Island. She eventually became a U.S. citizen and settled on the West Side of Cleveland, where she met her husband, Paul Piepenburg, the most Cleveland way possible: on a bowling league. In 1969 they married, and two years later had their only child, Erik Piepenburg. For 30 years, she worked as a secretary in the Dean's Office at Baldwin-Wallace College (now University), a job she loved because it brought her in contact with people who were eager to learn, a trait she valued. For many years she also worked side jobs, as a Spanish-English translator, Avon lady and Tupperware party hostess. She loved to dance the cumbia, go to the theater, watch telenovelas and movie comedies and listen to music, especially Bruce Springsteen and Julio Iglesias. Among the many causes she supported were PFLAG and La Mesa Espanola, a community organization for Latino men and women, for which she was the treasurer for many years. In addition to Erik, Sonia is survived by her son-in-law, David Wise, and by her nieces and nephews: Fred Jr., Patricia, Lupita, Marion and Ismael. She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, and by her siblings, Herman and Fred. Her legacy lives on in the many friendships she formed over the years, especially with her dear friend Lily Hidalgo. Services will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4 at La Sagrada Familia Catholic Church, 7719 Detroit Avenue, in Cleveland. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Sonia's memory to the North Olmsted Senior Center, 5200 Dover Center Road, North Olmsted, OH 44070.