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Sussmann -- Patricia Sussmann died peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday, November 12, 2002 after a long illness. She was 87. Though she spent the last decades of her life in New Mexico, she was born in Ashfield, Massachusetts on April 16, 1915. �Both her parents were educators, her father, Rudolf Sussmann, a high school principal and her mother, Mildred Brooks, tutored students in Greek and Latin. Patricia, like her mother, was educated at Radcliffe College where she graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1937. After graduation, she worked for the WPA in Washington DC and later the State Department. In 1943, the State Department transferred her to London, and later Brussels where she spent the rest of the War. During the post-war years, she was based in Paris with the Marshall Plan. Returning to the States in the early 50s she moved to Chicago where she worked as Director of Volunteer Services for the American Hospital Association and became an active volunteer with the Lincoln Park Zoo. After retiring from the AHA, she moved to Albuquerque, and began a second career as Public Information Officer for UNM Hospital until she retired again in 1982. After her second retirement, she turned her energies to volunteer work. She was a staunch supporter of the environment and animal rights. She served on the Board of Directors for the New Mexico Zoological Society and was the lead founder of the Friends of the Rio Grande Botanic Gardens. She was active in both supporting and volunteering her time with the Democratic Party and was a full time volunteer in Senator Bingaman's first campaign in 1982. She was also active in the New Mexico Harvard-Radcliffe Club. She is survived by her brother, Philip Sussmann of Albuquerque and her nieces Pamela Stovall of California and Cynthia Gruver of Albuquerque. Cremation has taken place and a memorial gathering will be held at French Mortuary, 10500 Lomas Blvd, NE on Saturday, November 16, 2002 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made, in Patricia's name, to the Rio Grande Botanic Gardens, 2601 Central, NW, 87104.
        Published on: Fri November 15, 2002