Susan Charles, R.I.P.

I heard through my sister of the death of Susan Charles, my sister having been notified by Susan Charles’s husband. Her first husband, Bob Charles, was an old friend of my parents, and I remember Bob and Susan Charles visiting us at my childhood home in State College, Pennsylvania; we stayed with them in Winnetka when we were driving back to State College from California, where my father had been teaching for a semester. I also saw her later, after Bob Charles’s death (he had heart problems and other issues, as I recall). When my sister had serious problems attempting to pursue postgraduate education (the first time; she later obtained a doctoral degree at the University of Pennsylvania), Susan was very kind and helpful to her.

Later, Susan Charles was there for when my father was dying, and a year afterward, when my mother was suffering her final illness. She was a good friend, and the world is poorer without her.