Susan E. Klepp

Susan Klepp was a wonderful person and scholar, and I am so glad to have known her -- a really great "Philadelphia person," whom we will miss greatly.

Susan was so incredibly generous with her time and attention, so kind and constructive with her criticism. One of my favorite memories of her is an afternoon spent at my house with Ruth Herndon, discussing a draft of one of Ruth´s books. Susan provided insightful critique, thoughtful suggestions for organizing material, and such support! It was a masterclass in mentoring.
I learned something new and important every time I spoke with her.

Susan and I were friends for almost 50 years! I have so many wonderful memories of our times together, of the holidays we celebrated together, and of the talks we had about scholarship, politics, family and more. My collection of memories began long before smartphones made taking photos easy. Here are just a few of the old ones. Photo 1 is my favorite - It reminds me of how generous Susan always was with her time and support. This photo was taken soon after I gave birth to Noah (via c-Section) and Susan came to visit and help me.

I met Susan through Phil when they purchased the farm in the Poconos. Susan was such a caring, gentle soul. I would see her out walking and tending to flowers with Scamp her faithful poodle. She always had a smile and a great sense of humor. A pleasant memory which will always be with me.

Susan was my MA advisor at Temple University. I had returned to school at age 40 and did not have an academic background. Through Susan's guidance and insight, the first part of my journey through graduate school went far more smoothly than I could have ever anticipated. Susan's kindness extended to my PhD program, where she served as an outside reader on my committee. I will always remember her unwavering support and wonderful sense of humor.

My deepest condolences to her beloved family on this loss. From my vantage as a historian who first knew Susan when I was a gradate student, it is impossible to overstate the importance of Susan's scholarship but also her qualities as a colleague and professional. I knew Susan first as a scholar whose work I read, and then after as a generous colleague, friend, and co-author. Susan's clarity of expression and insight always made me sit up -- she was exceptionally kind, always, but so precise in what she knew and why and how she knew it. I have so many memories of our time working together but among them was when we visited Hannah Callendar's quilt, in the collections at Independence National Park. We squeaked a bit and neither of us is a squeaker!

I met Susan through Phil in 1975. I worked with Phil´s friends, Stephen Ritner and Tom
Lindsey. As early as I can remember, Susan was instantly so warm and friendly and someone that was so easy to like. I knew how incredibly bright she was but not because she boasted or bragged about her accomplishments but because of her obvious intellect and off beat fabulous sense of humor. We would laugh about everything. I instantly felt comfortable with her. Both she and Phil became good friends for all these years. There would be long periods of time when we did not see each other but when we got together it was as if no time had passed. Her warmth and sense of humor was so welcoming. I felt honored to know her. She was a person of complete integrity. The world has lost another pearl. It´s a little darker without her but I´m so grateful she is no longer suffering.