Susan C. Burman
Susan Crandall Burman died on Sunday, January 10th in her home after a long battle with cancer.
Susan was born in Kenosha, WI on February 18th, 1938 to David and Virginia Travis. After high school she went to St. Luke’s School of Nursing in Racine, WI and graduated as an RN. She married Harv Burman on December 14th, 1957. Oh her mother was not happy as she married so young (19) to Harv who was so young (19) and so close to Christmas and such short notice (about a month as I recall) and to a boy who had almost nothing. A year later their first daughter, Becki was born. After her graduation from nursing school she worked in St Luke’s premature nursery which she always said was her favorite job. Harv took a job in Fond du Lac, WI with the A.C. Nielsen company. By that time Wendy and Christopher had been born and Andre came along a week before the move. Joshua came along 7 years later in 1972. Christopher was killed in a car accident in 1978. She is survived by husband Harv, their children Becki (Mike), LaRamie WY, Wendy (Ray) Wenatchee WA, Andre (Beth) North Bend WA, Josh (Tammy) Mankato MN, and grandchildren Amelia (Lek) Los Angeles CA, Kai Virginia Beach VA, Isabel Seattle WA, Schuyler LaRamie WY, Sal Durango CO, Claire Mankato MN, and little Braxton Mankato MN. Soon after moving to Fond du Lac she began teaching LaMaze Childbirth classes in her home. I don’t know how many couples attended those classes over the years but it must be close to 500. While teaching she began agitating to promote the allowing of fathers in the delivery room at the hospital. What a battle that was! It seems now that hospitals and doctors accept that idea with “of course, why wouldn’t you allow them in”. In a word, she won that battle. She worked for Fond du Lac County Health Department. She was the founding director of Fond du Lac’s Planned Parenthood office and after the priest at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church died she ran the Parish Press, a small business run by the church. In 1998 she was ordained as a Deacon and served at St. Paul’s Cathedral for four years when her bishop asked her to transfer to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Waupun, where she has served ever since.
Susan was passionate about women’s rights and attended the Women’s March in Washington in 2017 with her daughter Becki and granddaughter Amelia. She was passionate about social justice, and outreach to others. She organized and participated in several mission trips Honduras and Belize under the auspices of Episcopal Relief and Development. Susan actively helped keep several Thrift stores in business by being among their best customers. She was gung ho for adventure and even in her later years and went on many family adventures with her adult children and grandchildren; eight days paddling/camping on the Green River in Utah, a week backpacking in Yosemite National Park, a week bicycling/ camping on a tandem bicycle in the Texas Hill Country, 5 days riding our tandem bicycle down the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail to Washington DC, a week kayaking and camping on the Wisconsin River, two weeks kayak paddling camping in the Flambeau Turtle Flowage in Wisconsin, back packing hiking several times in Mt Rainier National Park and Rocky Mountain National Park, a week kayak camping on Isle Royal National Park and many more adventures. She was deeply involved in Marriage Encounter and later Retrovaille (a support organization for troubled marriages), and was a Parish Nurse for St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Susan was loved by many many people and will be missed by many more. Hers was a life of helping others in so many ways. Due to our current Covid situation her funeral will be delayed to another time when we can all gather to honor her life. Any donations in her honor will be given to Episcopal Relief and Development. She was the diocesan coordinator for ERD and would be very pleased to be helping ,even in her death.