Susan Burke Guenza
June 11, 1937 - February 28, 2021
Susan Burke Guenza loving wife, mother, sister and friend, and long-time resident of San Rafael, California - passed away peacefully at the age of
83 in the presence of her family on February 28, 2021 after fighting hard for three weeks against multiple injuries endured from a fall at home.
She will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her, and remembered fondly for her dry wit, fantastic sense of humor, friendly nature, keen intelligence, dedication to her family, incredible resilience and courage, and compassionate soul. She never expressed a word of discomfort or pain during her recent hospitalization, a final testament to her inner strength and remarkable faith.
Her family will be forever grateful that the Lord granted Susan a serene transition from her physical challenges, welcoming her gracefully into His peaceful eternal paradise and the infinite love of la Virgen de Guadalupe, to whom she was particularly devoted.
Susan was born in Boston, MA on June 11, 1937 to Thomas Murray Burke and Marie Dolores Monahan Burke of Winthrop, MA. The fourth child of six, she grew up in a close-knit Irish Catholic family and enjoyed large family gatherings, swimming in the ocean, and ice skating in the backyard with her friends and siblings before graduating from Winthrop High School in 1954.
She graduated from the Catherine Labouré School of Nursing in Dorchester, MA after working as a student nurse in South Boston and Baltimore, MD, and thereafter finished first in the State of Massachusetts board exams to become a nurse anesthetist. In the early 1960s, she and two friends drove west to new horizons in California, where Susan flourished in her career as a nurse anesthetist at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Francisco’s Fillmore District. She often recalled her diverse medical field colleagues from Kaiser with real fondness, and made a habit of slipping into the Baptist church down the block on her breaks to be with the joyful gospel music and friendly congregation there.
In 1965 she married John P. (Jack) Guenza, Jr., a native of Santa Rosa, CA and a man she would refer to as “my boyfriend” for the rest of her life.
After the 1967 birth of their son, John, Susan and Jack moved to San Rafael, CA in 1968 where they welcomed their younger son, Michael, in 1970 and developed an extensive community of friends. Susan was an energetic and creative volunteer throughout her life as a young mother and as her sons grew up, supporting and enriching the community at large through her work for the Coleman School PTA, the Davidson Middle School PTA, the Festival of Trees, the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael, St. Ignatius College Preparatory, the Little Sisters of the Poor at St. Anne’s Home, and the San Rafael Public Library.
She gracefully shared her home and kitchen with many of her sons’ friends and beloved neighborhood families with great joy and generosity over the years, and became well-known throughout the Black Canyon/Dominican region for her biscotti, minestrone soup, and homemade pesto (not bad for a woman 99.9%
Irish!). Susan was always ready to lend a hand, spend some time, or provide a delicious meal to whomever needed help, and supported many local friends and families through difficult health crises and battles with terminal illness.
When making a new acquaintance, Susan had the unique ability to gently ask just enough questions to know that person’s life history in a very short time. Her amazing memory about her years in Winthrop, MA led to many long-distance discussions and much laughter with her sisters on the East Coast.
Later in life, at the age of 56, Susan decided to embark on a new road to personal recovery and followed that path with humility and steady commitment for more than 27 years. She developed a new, even wider circle of friends in that community and she was perpetually grateful for their kindness, camaraderie, and support. Susan battled and beat a terrifying diagnosis of lung cancer at the age of 68 and lived quite comfortably and remarkably for fifteen additional years after recovering from a full pneumonectomy at UCSF in January 2006.
She and Jack enjoyed many memorable travels to Ireland, Mexico, Lake Tahoe, Cape Cod, Nova Scotia, Hawaii, Eastern Europe, South America, and Italy, where she formed a special bond with the extended Guenza family in Domodossola. Her warm, hospitable spirit, kind, joyous heart, and true loyalty to her family and friends will be remembered deeply as an inspiration and endless gift by all who knew her. Never at a loss for words, she now would remind us all to “Keep the sunny side up,” have “no worries,” and encourage us to give faithful thanks for the mystery of life and beauty of nature with a heartfelt “Amen, brother!”
Susan was predeceased by her loving parents, T. Murray and Marie, and her dear sister Carol Purcell of McLean, VA. She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Jack, her sons John (Emily) and Michael (Keyly) both of San Francisco, siblings Marie Howard (Webster) of Lagrangeville, NY, Joseph Burke of Pasadena, CA, Christine Faurot of Montclair, NJ, and Thomas M. Burke, Jr. (Madeline) of Swampscott, MA plus many devoted nieces and nephews. Her husband and sons remain most thankful for the expert medical care Susan received from the nursing team at Marin Health, and moreover for all the kindness, love, and gentle help extended to them in this time of bereavement.
Susan will be laid to rest in Mendocino, CA, a place she loved dearly and visited often with Jack as the ancestral California home of the Guenza family. A larger life celebration of Susan and her loving, joyful soul will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Little Sisters of the Poor at St. Anne’s Home in San Francisco, a historic organization providing care for the elderly needy in a spirit of humble service.