Out In The Mountains : News - In Memoriam: Susan Mary Weaver

by Amy Rubin

       Susan Weaver, daughter of Irene and Joseph Weaver and sister of Joan, Margaret and Sarah, passed away peacefully on the morning of September 28th. Susan was a woman of true peace, joy and generosity who delighted in everyone's gifts.
       Susan lived a deeply spiritual life and spent several years in the service of both the Carmelite and Trappistine Orders of nuns. In the early 1950s she traveled to India and served the poor with Mother Teresa's Little Sisters of Calcutta. In later years she chose to live a self-styled contemplative life in the Vermont countryside that she loved so dearly. She was a devoted reader of Out In The Mountains.
       Susan graduated from Barnard College with a degree in geology in 1946. She later served as her class correspondent and kept a strong connection with her classmates. A lifelong and passionate student of literature, Susan shared her knowledge and love of poetry and fiction with family and friends. Her love of the written word extended to her own writing, including an essay in the 1985 anthology Lesbian Nuns: Breaking Silence.
        Susan enjoyed a profound connection with young people and loved to share her artistic talents in both teaching and encouraging children to express themselves by creating beautiful paintings, cards and sculptures. She also enjoyed a rich connection with nature and loved to fish in the many lakes and ponds near her home. Susan was a prolific letter writer with a large and diverse group of correspondents. Her loving letters, playful drawings, hand-made cards, ornaments, calendars, holiday artwork and glitter-filled envelopes will be missed.
        The memory of her kindness and unbounded love will always be cherished by those she influenced. In particular her sister Sarah's children; Cyrus, Susan, Sarah, Eliza, Daniel and Oliver Todd, and her sister Joan's children; Rebecca and Matthew Hovey, as well as their spouses and all of their children will never forget the deep love and kindness that Susan shared with them. Additionally, the spiritual joy and love she shared with Jane Jeffrey, Sister Miriam Ward, R.S.M.M. and Sister Diane Gauthier, O.C.D.D. will live forever.
       In lieu of flowers and other expressions of sympathy Susan requested that her many friends and family members consider making donations to one of the two following organizations: Woman Centered, 802-229-6202, and the Carmelite Sisters of Beacon, Carmelite Monestery, 89 Hiddenbrooke Drive, Beacon, N.Y. 12508.