Sr. Susan Vera Dewitt, Csjp Obituary (1941 - 2020)

Died January 14, 2020 at St. Mary-on-the-Lake, home of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in Bellevue, WA. Susan was born in Boston, Massachusetts on October 6, 1941, the daughter of Wilmar and Vera Dewitt. Before entering the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace at age 50, Susan had an impressive educational background and accomplished career in teaching, writing and public service. She received a B.A. from Whitman College, a Ph.D. from University of Washington in English Literature and a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University. Susan taught Renaissance literature at the University of New Mexico and worked in historic preservation, economic development and planning for the cities of Albuquerque, Seattle and the State of Oklahoma. After entering the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in 1991, Susan continued to share her many gifts as a sister dedicated to pursuing peace through justice. She ministered at Jubilee Women's Center, transitional housing for homeless women, and the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center in Seattle where she developed the "Justice for Women" program. Susan served on the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace Province Leadership Team from 2003 to 2009. She then spent four years in El Salvador, where she was the in-country coordinator for PazSalud, the El Salvador Health Mission of the Sisters and PeaceHealth. In recent years before coming to live at St. Mary-on-the-Lake, Susan lived with a lively CSJP community on Capitol Hill and enjoyed cooking, gardening, reading and writing. A book of Susan's poetry, entitled "Traveling Empty", was published by Kenmare Press in 2019. At her 25th Jubilee in 2016, Susan wrote: "These years as a Sister of St. Joseph of Peace have been the happiest of my life. I'm deeply grateful to the community for the love and support they have given me. And I give thanks to God for leading me on this path, even when I had no idea where I was headed." She is survived by her sister, Katherine Roben as well as nieces and nephews. A Vigil Service will be held Thursday, January 23rd, at 4:00 PM A Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, January 24th, at 10:30 AM BOTH services will be held at St. Mary-on-the-Lake Chapel 1663 Killarney Way, Bellevue 98004 (Carpooling is encouraged) Burial, Holyrood Cemetery Remembrances can be made to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace Retirement Fund PO Box 248, Bellevue, WA 98009 Hoffner Fisher & Harvey Guestbook at harveyfuneral.com To send a flower arrangement in memory of Sr. Susan Vera Dewitt, CSJP, please click here to visit our sympathy store.