Now there’s a word to describe her: perennial. Susan’s first love is gardening, in which she’s not only perennial, but evergreen. (Outside of Shipley, she’s a member of the Garden Club of Philadelphia and the Flower Guild at the Church of the Redeemer, and does the floral decorations for the Philadelphia Antiques Show.) At the School, she is a constant participant in Shipley’s Green Thumb, providing floral arrangements for the School at all times of year, and arranging and manning the Green Thumb booths at the Shops and Secret Gardens to raise funds for the Sprouts, Shipley’s student horticultural activity. Susan’s own three sprouts, Zachary ’95, Amanda’98, and Teddy ’02, she, of course, sent to Shipley to tend.

At the time of her 30th reunion, Susan wrote: “Volunteering at Shipley has been my major occupation to date.” (She also managed the Lily Pulitzer store in Bryn Mawr for twelve years.) “It may seem,” she continued, “like a rather provincial lifestyle, but it creates pleasure for others and satisfaction for me.”

Creating pleasure for others is the key to Susan. The colors of her clothes, her language, and wit, surpassed only by the colors of her floral arrangements, always make us smile. Her loyalty and her sense of responsibility to others strengthen us. We are pleased to give her the 2005 Alumni Association Service Award.