Susan Helen (Schatzki) Skinner Obituary (1929

SUSAN HELEN SCHATZKI SKINNER, loving mother of four, died on January 15, 2025, following complications of surgery. Predeceased by her loving husband of 62 years, William Robert Skinner, parents Herbert and Else Schatzki, sister Ursula Eisenwinter, and grandson Jesse Cannon. Survived by her brother Peter Schatzki, children David Skinner, Jonathan Skinner (Debra Tronvig), Janey Skinner, and Deborah Cannon, and grandchildren Alicia Westbrook (Clinton Spadaro), Martin Cannon (Shannon), Chelsea Cannon (Chennelle Bryant-Harris), and Kai Cannon, as well as great-grandchildren Layla Westbrook and Aloura Cannon, many cousins, nieces, nephews, and dearest friends. Born in Tubingen, Germany and raised in nearby Balingen, she and her family left Europe in 1938, making their new home in central Connecticut. A student of Modern Languages, she received her BA from Oberlin College in 1952, and later received her teaching certificate. After graduation, she taught at elementary schools in Connecticut and Tampa, Florida, where she met Bill Skinner. Susan and Bill were married in 1957, and lived in Florida, New York, and New Jersey before settling for over sixty years in Oberlin, Ohio. Susan was active in the Unitarian Fellowship in Oberlin and the Olmsted Unitarian Universalist Congregation. In their long marriage, Bill and Susan set an example of a life grounded in values and service, enriched by music and the arts, and full of love and resilience. They cared for dozens of pets, many of them strays, and their home was a welcoming and lively space for friends. Susan worked in the mental health field for many years, providing emergency mental health services and counseling at COPE and the Nord Center for clients in Lorain County, Ohio. She was involved in starting co-ops in Oberlin during her college years, and later worked as a board member and employee at the Co-op Bookstore. You could find her volunteering in many capacities throughout the community, from preparing hot meals in Oberlin to leading exercise classes in Willow Brook at Delaware Run, a senior living community where she moved in 2019 in Delaware, Ohio. If you knew Susan, you knew you could come to her for a listening ear or advice, no matter the circumstances. Many people noted that she was their encyclopedia, as her interests and knowledge were so broad. She was an advocate for others and a source of support and advice. She will be remembered for her quickness of wit, her sense of humor, and her kindness. She was more concerned about the comfort and welfare of others than she was about herself. The world is now a lesser place without her in it. Private arrangements are being handled by COOK & SON - PALLAY FUNERAL HOME.