We remember fondly and with love our congregant and CRS colleague Susan Kurschner, who passed away on July 24. Susan-pictured here, left, with Marge Sachs and Rabbi Robert Levine-was best known as Suzie. She was part of the fabric of our congregation. She was actively involved for over 50 years, including as a Confirmand, as a devoted volunteer and she was a mainstay of our Business Office for almost 40 years. At her funeral on July 26th, Rabbi Levine spoke about her indomitable spirit and her ever-present smile. She was, he said, “the most positive person I had ever met. She saw the best in everybody.”
Suzie started as a volunteer in Rabbi Hirschberg’s office, working with Marge Sachs. Over the years, she had her hand in so many aspects of the working of the synagogue, from catering onegs to running the Shop at 7 West to chairing the Parents Education guild and starting a senior group. Her desk in the business office became a touchstone for staff and congregants who, as Rabbi Levine said “visited her for their ‘Suzie fix’ and for a dose of love.” And when they visited, she would open her drawer which was filled with the many different types of cookies she knew different staff liked – she always knew which cookie had to go to whom. Rabbi Levine also noted that Suzie believed that “you can’t be defeated by what you can’t control, that rather you triumph by increasing what you can control. “ And Suzie did just that in the last two years of her life – she loved more, she smiled more, and she inspired more.
Suzie will be sorely missed by so many. Her influence and her impact on so many people was evident at her funeral, which was held in a packed Sanctuary filled with past and present co-workers from CRS and RSS, congregants, Trustees, friends, educators, and clergy.
Last September, CRS staff gathered to honor her work and installed a plaque outside the business office where she spent so much time. The plaque states: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” – Proverbs 31:29. That was our Suzie.
We extend our heartfelt condolences to her entire family, her husband Robert, her children Jackson and Marc, daughter-in-laws Minoo and Jamie, and her beloved grandchildren Maya and Jonah. Her cousin, Helaine Geisman Katz was like a sister to her, and we extend our condolences to her as well.
