Susan Satz Kaplan
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A Life in Full Bloom
Susan Satz Kaplan, 88, of Needham, MA, passed away on October 27, 2024. Sue was born on May 10, 1936, in Poughkeepsie, NY to Elizabeth and Louis Satz. She was the beloved wife of Jay Kaplan, loving sister to Naomi and brother-in-law Paul (predeceased), dear mother and mother-in-law of Peter and Mary, Bill and Catherine, and Jim and Caroline, precious grandmother of Drew, Ben, Frances, Lily, and Hattie, and extraordinary aunt to SaraJane and Ed Goldberg and Richard and Bonnie Lapidus.
Sue was a natural teacher, brimming with curiosity and can-do spirit. As an undergraduate at Connecticut College, she painted in oils and drew exquisite still lives and portraits. After earning her BA, in Education and Art History, she fell in love with a handsome young Coast Guard officer from Great Neck, NY, her dear Jay, and they were married on November 23, 1958.
After moving to the Boston area, for several years, to the delight of her many students, Sue taught Kindergarten at the public school at Hanscom Air Force Base, in Lincoln, MA. While raising their three rambunctious sons, Sue turned her creative gifts to floral design, becoming a central member of Temple Beth Shalom’s Garden Club. Her Highgate House studio brought joy and beauty to decades of happy customers as they celebrated their weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, and more. Sue taught, mentored, judged, and lectured widely, winning many awards, from the MFA’s famous Art in Bloom, the New England Flower Show, Maynard Winston Awards, and others. Of her many floral recognitions, Sue was perhaps most proud of her work with the Art Department at Needham High School, teaming up with students to create Art in Bloom, hosted annually at the Needham Public Library. In addition to her dearly beloved relatives, Sue loved her “Floral Family” deeply.
Sue also embodied a sense of adventure, learning to ski the icy slopes of New England when Peter, Bill, and Jim were small, then later in life traveling widely— to Alaska, Europe, Israel, and India, for instance, for a dear friend’s wedding, where she rode the rugged mountains by mule with Jay; whitewater rafting Washington’s Snake River in celebration of Peter and Mary’s marriage; hiking the White Mountains and sleeping in a high-mountain hut with Bill and Catherine; exploring Jewish history in Havana, Cuba, and the coastlines of Mexico, or hot-air ballooning in New Mexico with her grandchildren and Jim and Caroline, and sampling the many wines of Argentina, with her dear niece SaraJane, and so much more.
Her home was open to all and always filled with friends and neighbors who flocked to Sue, for conversation, a meal, comfort, laughter, joy, and, of course, bountiful, fragrant flowers, bursting with color and vitality that were and will remain a reflection of Sue and her spirit.
Sue’s funeral service will be held at 10 AM on Thursday, October 31, 2024 at Temple Beth Shalom, 670 Highland Ave., Needham, MA where Sue and Jay have been members for over 60 years. Interment will follow at Sharon Memorial Park in Sharon, MA.
Sue’s family will be receiving shiva visitors at Temple Beth Shalom from 1-3 PM. and later at the Kaplan home, from 6-8 PM on Thursday. They will also be welcoming visitors at their home, on Friday afternoon from 3-5:30 PM.
In lieu of flowers—as much as Sue loved them!— donations in Sue’s memory may be made to The Sue Kaplan Art in Bloom Fund (https://www.giving.tbsneedham.org/donate; mail checks to: 670 Highland Ave., Needham MA 02494) and to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (https://www.stjude.org; mail checks to: 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.)
Zichronah Livrachah – May Sue’s memory always be for a blessing.