Susan R. Lichten
Susan R. Lichten passed away peacefully at Care Dimensions Hospice House in Lincoln on January 26, 2026 at the age of 102, after a brief illness. Sue is survived by her son Thomas and his wife, Judy, of Chicago, and their three children: Rob and his wife, Joanna, of Evanston; Keith and his partner, Michael, of Oakland and Eugene; and Catie and her partner, Bruno, and their two children, of England. She is also survived by her son John and his wife, Mary Milgrom, of Ipswich, and their daughter Hilary and her husband Seth, and their son, of Newton. Her youngest son, David, predeceased her.
Born in Boston in 1923, she grew up in Newton and Brookline, Massachusetts, graduating from Brookline High School. She then began her undergraduate studies at Radcliffe College and completed her degree at Bryn Mawr College. Her parents, Kivey and Evelyn Rogers, passed away while Sue was in high school. She then lived with her Uncle Eddy and Aunt Florence and her cousins Janet and Carol. Sue met her late husband, Robert Lichten, while she was a high school student and he was an undergraduate at MIT. They married and raised their three sons in Philadelphia, Buffalo, and finally Dallas, where the family settled for more than 70 years.
Together, Sue and Bob were active leaders in social justice causes in Dallas. Inspired by Sue’s uncle, Kivie Kaplan, national president of the NAACP, they worked to promote equality, opportunity, and civil liberties. Sue, as a volunteer, launched the city’s first preschool program for underserved children, was active in the League of Women Voters, and campaigned for political leaders, especially women, including two friends – Texas Governor Ann Richards and Mayor Adlene Harrison, the first woman to be mayor of Dallas.
Bob was an aeronautical engineer and inventor of what today is called the Osprey – an aircraft that can take off and land like a helicopter and convert, mid-air, to fly like a fixed-wing aircraft. After Bob’s sudden death at age 50, Sue went to work at Brookhaven Community College, becoming the Associate Director of the Adult Education Program and encouraging thousands of students to pursue lifelong learning.
Sue approached life with energy and enthusiasm, maintaining close connections with a wide circle of family and friends throughout her life. She sang in the Temple Emanu-El choir for 70 years and was an excellent tennis player who played regularly until her mid-eighties. In retirement, she explored countries in Europe, Africa, and South America, taught English as a second language, and became a Texas Master Gardener. She was also an avid supporter of the arts, attending most performances of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Dallas Chamber Music Society, as well as many theater productions. She filled what little free time she had with challenging crossword puzzles and was a formidable Scrabble player, affectionately challenging her grandchildren and friends.
She cherished time at her family’s Colorado retreat, Aspenroost, which she and Bob had designed and built along with help from their sons. There, she gathered family and friends – encouraging hikes, picnics in her favorite alpine meadows, and board games, discouraging TV, and serving stiff Bloody Marys at a gently enforced happy hour so all would pause and gaze at the mountains at sunset. She made the ten-hour drive from Dallas many times – often bringing batches of her signature schnecken breakfast buns and coffee cake. After boldly confronting a bear that had broken into the cabin – and chasing it away – she became a legend among friends and family.
Sue moved back to Newton in her final years to be close to her family. She enjoyed living at Cabot Park Village, a wonderful independent living community, where she continued to inspire others with her warmth, curiosity, intelligence, optimism, and natural ability to be a gifted, engaging conversationalist. She will be remembered with deep love and gratitude for her generous spirit, commitment to lifelong learning, and the example she set by persevering through tragic losses to build a life of joy, filled with family, friends, and the rich experiences the world offers.
A memorial service will be held in the future. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Sue’s honor to the Choir Fund at Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, to the Care Dimensions Hospice House in Lincoln, Massachusetts , and to the American Civil Liberties Union.
