Susan Youdovin

Born to Molly and Philip Welber on May 7, 1941, Susan Youdovin grew up in South Bend, IN and went on to attend Wellesley and Barnard Colleges.  While a true Hoosier and diehard Notre Dame fan at heart, Susan also loved New York City and eventually settled in Westfield and then Montclair, New Jersey.  Toward the end of her life, she happily returned to Massachusetts to live near family and take in what turned out to be two more spectacular New England autumns.

An avid reader, Susan was a fixture at the library wherever she lived.  She was a fan of Shakespeare and science fiction and everything in between, with a special place in her heart for poetry.  She also was a longtime subscriber to The New York Times and proudly continued to do the daily crossword puzzle (well…all but Friday and Saturday, anyway!) until her last days.

A lifetime music lover, Susan was a devoted fan of opera and classical music, as well as folk, blues, and old school rock and roll.  She sang in a number of different choirs throughout her life and greatly looked forward to the bi-weekly folk singing gatherings at Orchard Cove, her final residence.

Most of all, Susan was committed to showing up – for friends, for family, for community.  As a teen she was active in NFTY (National Federal of Temple Youth) and later became involved first with Temple Emanu-El (Westfield, NJ) and then Bnai Keshet (Montclair, NJ).  Seeing her synagogue community as a second home, she jumped into countless projects, building deeply-rooted relationships with people who meant the world to her along the way.  Whether it was creating a newsletter, reimagining synagogue offerings, helping to run a regional Yom HaShoah program, or hosting a dozen+ friends for pre-Yom Kippur dinner in her small apartment, Susan saw what needed doing and quietly just got it done.

Susan always marveled at the fact that people would pay her to write for a living.  After working for the New York City Housing and Development Administration after college, she began her career in earnest writing articles and press releases for the New Jersey town she lived in, often taking and developing the accompanying photos in a makeshift darkroom in her family’s laundry room.

Susan went on to work as a staff writer at Drew University and project director for Foundations for Learning, Incorporated.  In 1983 Susan took a job at Coleman & Pellet Inc., a position that would launch her into the field of strategic corporate communications for global pharma/medical technologies companies. She would eventually go on to co-found B&Y Communications with her friend and colleague Nancy Blethen and ultimately retire as the Executive VP of Rosica’s healthcare division.  Along the way she also edited several books, including Learn. Pray. Do Justly. Temple Emanu-El and the American Jewish Experience.

As part of her commitment to smoothing the professional road for those coming after her, Susan worked tirelessly for gender equity in the workplace.  She was deeply involved with the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association and in 1999 was the first ever recipient of their Volunteer of the Year Award (now called Strategic Transformation Achievement Recognition).

Susan was married to Ira Youdovin for almost twenty years.  Even after they parted ways, they remained friends throughout their lives, staying connected through their children Julie (Justin) and Joshua, as well as grandchildren Annie and Michael.

Susan passed away on Friday, October 25 and will be deeply missed by her children and grandchildren, as well as her sister Barbara Asher, her brother Michael Welber, and many nephews, nieces, cousins, and dear friends.  In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be directed to Bnai Keshet (Montclair, NJ), Planned Parenthood, Toni’s Kitchen (Montclair, NJ), the Orchard Cove Scholarship Fund (Canton, NJ), or the cardiology program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston, MA).

The family will be observing shiva on Saturday, November 2 at 7:00 PM, with a minyan at 7:30 PM, at Bnai Keshet (99 South Fullerton Avenue, Montclair, NJ).  The funeral will be held at Bnai Keshet on Sunday, November 3 at 2:30 PM.