Susan Higginbotham

Higginbotham, Susan

1953-2011: Susan passed away peacefully on May 22nd, 2011 and will be very much missed by many loving friends and family. She is survived by her husband John Stetch. Born in Brooklyn on November 29, 1953, Susan graduated from the High School of the Performing Arts (Fame!) in New York, and subsequently from The Joffrey School of Ballet. Multi-talented, she later studied acting with the legendary Lee Strasberg (of the Godfather), and also trained to be a guitar-playing country singer songwriter which resulted in a hit single at a Tennessee radio station in the 80's. She eventually settled in Jacksonville, Florida to take care of her parents and worked for the local PBS station for several years. Her love for jazz music resulted in meeting pianist John Stetch in 1998. They married soon after, and she became a manager of several jazz musicians' careers while living in Brooklyn and eventually Ithaca.

To those who knew Susan, she was a ray of sunshine who was boldly expressive, had an enormous compassion for animals, and a great appreciation for the arts, including her own more recent pursuit of writing and photography. In recent years, she worked as Marketing Director for Snow Lion Publications and became an active member of the Tibetan Buddhist community. May her sweet soul live on.

In lieu of flowers, Susan would have appreciated that any donation be made to: Farm Sanctuary, P.O. Box 150, Watkins Glen, NY 14891 (by mail). By phone: 604-583-2225 x 221. Online Donations:

www.farmsanctuary.org