Susan Gibson Schiller, 83, passed away on June 9, 2023, at Blossom Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in Salem, Ohio. She was born on Aug. 2, 1939, in Youngstown to the late William K. and Constance (Tice) Gibson. Susan graduated from the Northampton School for Girls before attending Centenary College in Hackettstown, N.J., and Youngstown State University. She worked at the Salem Public Library for over 25 years and prior to that was a receptionist for Dr. Howard Moore. She was a charter member of the Board of AID and sat on the Century House board. Susan also volunteered for the Salem Historical Society and its museum for many years. Susan married the late Royal Schiller on Aug. 5, 1961, and they had one son, David A. Schiller. Susan will be remembered by her brother, William K. Gibson Jr. of Poland; sister, Jane Salter ’64 of Corvallis, Oregon; and five nieces. She is preceded in death by her husband, son, parents and one niece. Visitation will be from 4-5 p.m., Wednesday, June 14 at Stark Memorial. A memorial service will immediately follow at 5 p.m., Wednesday, June 14. Burial will take place at Grandview Cemetery. Memorial donations in Susan’s name, can be made to the Salem Public Library, 821 E. State St., Salem, Ohio 44460; or Salem Historical Society Museum, 208 S. Broadway, Salem, Ohio 44460. If unable to attend, join our complimentary “Hugs from Home” program at www.starkmemorial.com/hugs-from-home.

Mary Ellen Kozuch, 81, of Huntsville, Alabama died Saturday, April 23, 2022.

Mary Ellen was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts and moved to Huntsville in 1963. Preceding her in death were her parents, Edward and Dorothy Debarbieri; husband, Joseph Anthony Kozuch; and sister, Linda Debarbieri.

Mary Ellen leaves her beloved son Joseph Kozuch, her cherished grandchildren Alexander (Emily) LaRussa-Kozuch; Haley Kozuch, and Weston Kozuch; and a host of other relatives and friends. A graveside service will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Monday, May 2, 2022, at the St. Brigid’s Cemetery in Easthampton.

Stephanie Brown Fehm, a fifty-year resident of Davis, California died on January 26, 2022, after bravely living with cancer for over two years.

Stephanie was born in October 1940 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts to Barbara (Nath) and Chester Brown. She grew up in Kent, Connecticut and spent summers in Campton, New Hampshire at her beloved family home on Mad River. She attended St. Mary’s School for Girls in Peekskill, New York and later Northampton School for Girls, in Northampton, Massachusetts, from which she graduated in 1958.

After graduation, she entered the nursing program at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut from which she graduated in 1961. She continued to practice as a registered nurse at Yale New Haven Hospital. The family moved to Florence, Italy where her husband, Tony, worked on his Ph.D. in Art History. After returning to the United States, the family settled in Davis, California, and she always returned to New Hampshire for as many summers as possible.

In California Stephanie continued to practice nursing and later became a nurse practitioner. She was a member of one of the first classes to graduate from University of California, Davis, Nurse Practitioner Program when it was established in the 1970’s. Stephanie worked as a nurse practitioner in rural health clinics and in vulnerable communities during her clinical career. She went on to become a labor representative for the California Nurses Association until she retired in 2005. Through her hard work, along with all the dedicated people at CNA, nurses in California have safer working conditions, higher salaries, better benefits, and more secure retirements.

Stephanie was a life-long FDR Democrat and an ardent women’s rights advocate. Over the years she worked for numerous candidates both on the local and national level. She was passionate about her civic obligation to be an informed voter and an active participant in the democratic process.

In retirement she became deeply involved with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) program in Davis. She served on a variety of committees and enjoyed a host of friends and courses. In one of her OLLI writing classes, she wrote: “I would want to be remembered as a good and loyal mother, grandmother, sister, and friend. I hope that I would be remembered as a fair person, one who tried to treat all people equally. It would please me if others would remember me for two absolute rules: never cross a picket line or buy art to match the furniture!”

Stephanie was also an active and devoted grandparent to her three granddaughters. When they were young, she picked them up from school, took care of them when they were sick, and attended every school function and athletic event. She was a powerful support and role model.

Stephanie was predeceased by her father, Chester; mother, Barbara; brother, Jonathan; and sister, Katharine. She is survived by her daughter, Gretchen (Ian) Blake, Sacramento, California; her granddaughters, Anna Blake, Portland, Oregon; Allison Blake, Berkeley, California; Elizabeth Blake, Santa Cruz, California; her sister, Susan Norris (Tim), Andover, New Hampshire; and her nephew, Matthew Norris, Seattle, Washington, along with many cousins.

Stephanie’s family could not have managed her final weeks without the loving care, professionalism, and unwavering support from Lisa Saephan, RN and Vihn Tran at Honest Living. We will be forever indebted. Her family would also like to express gratitude and thanks to Mercy Cancer Center, Sutter Home Health, Sutter Hospice and Sutter Davis Medical Group for their commitment and dedication to Stephanie’s care.

Stephanie was a woman of substance, determination, and kindness. She was greatly loved, will be hugely missed, and long remembered.

New Hampshire was always in her heart, and Stephanie’s hope was to get back again for a visit. There will be a summer family gathering and remembrance at Mad River Cemetery, Upper Road, Campton. For all her friends and family in the Davis area, there will be a celebration of her life at a later date. For more information, please email: Steph.Brown.Fehm.Celebration@gmail.com.

Susan Barbara Martula, 80, retired principal clarinetist with the Albany Symphony, died on June 28, 2021 at her home in Troy, New York.

Susan, the daughter of the late John and Helen Martula, grew up in Hadley, Massachusetts. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Smith College in 1962, and afterwards studied at the Paris Conservatory and worked for Nadia Boulanger. Upon her return to the States, she studied clarinet with Leon Russianoff at Manhattan School of Music, receiving a Master of Fine Arts in 1964. As a professional clarinetist Susan continued to study throughout her career and was a student of Larry Combs and, in later years, Steve Hartman. In addition to her work with the Albany Symphony she was principal clarinetist of the Berkshire Symphony. She also played with the American Symphony Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski, the Colorado Philharmonic, Lake George Opera, and others. She has recorded with Albany Records, New World, and Nonesuch.

Susan served on the faculties of Skidmore College and Williams College, where she was artist associate, led the Williams Clarinet Choir and performed with the Williams College Chamber Players. She was adjunct instructor in music at Emma Willard School and was the founding conductor of the orchestra.

Throughout her distinguished career, Susan taught and nurtured scores of young musicians. Her home was fondly referred to as “Camp Martula” by artists who traveled to the Capital Region to perform with the Albany Symphony. She took great delight in hosting her visiting colleagues, and regaled them with legendary dinners precisely timed to get the group to the concert hall on schedule.

Susan was fun to be around. She was charming, gracious, and had a keen wit. People enjoyed her elegant sense of fashion and great smile. She displayed these same qualities during her recent years of treatment for her illness and the pandemic. She stayed as active as possible, even swimming long distances in the ocean which was a lifelong passion, and continuing her Pilates, another passion. Most importantly, she planned and did joyful things like getting ice cream with those she loved. Susan knew how to enjoy every moment that was given to her.

She was predeceased by her husband of 29 years, David A. Perry, M.D. She is survived by brothers Dick (Ann) Martula and David (Tanyss) Martula, nephew Stefan and niece Rose (David), grandniece Brooke, stepdaughter Noelle and stepson Nathan (Amy), goddaughter Deslyn (Alex), and eight grandchildren: Kage, Kevin, Cameron, Mia, MacKenzie, Isabelle, Penda and Charlotte.

Thank you to the Community Hospice of Rensselaer County and all the health care workers, especially Bibi, Jennifer, Dee, and Wendy, who assisted Susan during her illness. Special thanks also to Susan’s circle of deeply devoted friends, especially Ellen, Victor, and Mitsuko.

Burial will be private and a memorial service is planned for later this year.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in memory of Susan B. Martula to the Albany Symphony Orchestra Inc., 19 Clinton Avenue, Albany, NY 12207, or to the Berkshire Symphony, Bernhard Music Center, 54 Chapin Hall Drive, Williamstown, MA 01267.

Elena Maria Giamatti Ewing died at home with family in Portsmouth, NH, on April 15, 2021, of complications from dementia. She was born in Boston on June 14, 1940, to Valentine Giamatti, son of Italian immigrants, and Mary Walton, daughter of the Yankee establishment. Her two-year-old brother promptly and permanently re-christened her Elria. She grew up an American original, with a personality as unique as her name, vibrant, independent, and strong-willed.
Elria was raised in South Hadley, Mass., where her father was on the faculty of Mount Holyoke College. When the family moved to postwar Rome for her father’s sabbatical year, her uninhibited personality was found disruptive in first grade at the Swiss-German School. So she stayed home and learned Italian from maids and neighbors, including Mussolini’s daughter, Edda, then recently released from prison. She also met Pope Pius XII when the family received a private audience. Italian became her fluent second language then and during her father’s later sabbatical in Rome, and her college junior year in Florence.
Her skirmishes with organized education continued through South Hadley public schools, the American Overseas School of Rome, the Northampton School for Girls in Northampton, MA, Wells College in Aurora, NY, and the School of General Studies at Columbia University, where she earned a BS degree in Romance languages in 1963.
She was a natural athlete, good at horseback riding, tennis, and skiing.
Elria got to know David Ewing over many summers at camp in New Hampshire. They were married in 1963. Their first year of married life was in Sierra Leone, West Africa, where both taught secondary school. Their first son was born there by unplanned caesarian section in a rural Catholic mission hospital. The young family grew by three in the next four years after they returned to the States.
Elria repeatedly created secure and nurturing homes for the family as David’s work took them to four countries of Asia and Europe, as well as Virginia, Washington, D.C., and New York City. She was ever a formidable advocate for them with the inevitable bureaucracies of life and education, bruising a few egos in the process.
Fortunately, she had a restless nature; she counted 19 moves in her life. When she wasn’t moving, she was traveling. Her children remember, not always fondly, a rail tour of Europe when they were ages 10 to 14 under the Spartan guidance of Europe on $10 a Day. She avoided flying but counted 25 ocean sailings starting in 1947, including two Pacific crossings. She and David took the Queen Mary II to Europe in its inaugural year and five roundtrips thereafter.
Elria also counted at least 15 jobs, including stints in local newspaper advertising and real estate. She was a natural teacher. She taught English to Japanese schoolgirls and to adult groups including the Taipei City Council and Japanese housewives. She coordinated a program to find summer jobs for American teens in Tokyo. She related particularly well to young people, and is fondly remembered by alumni of the American School in Japan, where she worked in the library, and American University in Washington, D.C, where she was an academic counselor.
Retirement years took the couple to East Dover, Vermont, where she raised llamas and opened an antique shop, and finally to Portsmouth, where they have lived for 19 years. She liked New York City, Lord &Taylor and Italian opera. She joined choral singing groups in Vermont and New Hampshire.
Wherever she went, Elria made friends and was known for her cooking and entertaining, with an international accent. She was active in community organizations, often making sure people were well fed. In Portsmouth she organized the first lobster bake and the first holiday caroling for the South End neighborhood association, both of which became annual events. She was a member of the Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College (Fla.) and the New Hampshire chapter of The Colonial Dames of America at Portsmouth’s Moffatt-Ladd House.
Elria’s family is deeply grateful to the exceptional caregivers who made it possible for her to remain at home in comfort during her last years.
She is survived by her husband; son Jeffrey Ewing and wife Daphne of Conshohocken, Pa.; son Dino Ewing and wife Janine of Eastchester, N.Y.; daughter Valentina Leonard and husband Edward of Acton, Mass.; son Nathaniel Ewing and wife Emily of Nottingham, N.H.; ten grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; and a brother Dino Giamatti and wife Barbara of Scarborough, Maine. She was predeceased by her parents and an older brother, A. Bartlett Giamatti.
She will be remembered at private observances. Memorial contributions to the Alzheimer’s Association are suggested.