Suzanne “Sue” Rogers Orrick

Widow of John G. Rogers and the Honorable William H. Orrick Jr.

Dear to so many who affectionately called her “Ma Sue” and “Aunt Sue,” she is survived by her sister, Ginger Sonnenschein; children, John G. Rogers Jr. and Diana Vance Rogers; daughter-in-law, Wendy Parkman; grandchildren, Molly, Olivia, and Galen Parkman Rogers; greatgrandson, Jules Rogers Denicke; stepchildren, the late Mary Louise Petersen, Marion Livermore, and William H. Orrick lll; and step-grandchildren, Laurel Petersen, William Petersen, Whitney Livermore, Sarah, Katherine, and Elizabeth Orrick; and several much loved god-children.

Born in Chicago Illinois. A graduate of the North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka, Illinois, and Bryn Mawr College, class of 1945. Past President of the Bryn Mawr Club of Northern California.

She loved San Francisco, and was a resident of the city since 1948, moving from Illinois after marrying John G. Rogers of Boston, Mass. She was a proud History major, a voracious reader, a lover of the arts, and a world traveller. She loved swimming, playing tennis, sailing on San Francisco Bay, their Sausalito houseboat “Beaver,” rooting for the Giants and 49ers, and summers with the Chickering family in Woodside and Soda Springs where her husband and children fly fished and rode horseback together. She was a familiar presence at the St. Francis Yacht Club, and was a tireless promoter of her first husband’s book, “Origins of Sea Terms,” now in its sixth printing from the Mystic Seaport Museum. She was a great hostess and active in the life of the city until no longer able. She was a Life Governor of the San Francisco Symphony, serving on the Board of Governors for 38 years, twice chairing the Black and White Ball. She was a founding member of the Wattis Room and a charter member of the Pierre Monteux Society. She also served on the Activities Board of SFMOMA, and was devoted to St. Luke’s Hospital, where she served on the Board of Trustees, was Chairman of the Women’s Board of Saint Luke’s Hospital, chairman of St. Luke’s Hospital Foundation and Saint Luke’s Hospital Auxiliary, and founded the Junior Auxiliary.

Following her marriage to her first husband, who passed away in 1992, she married the Honorable William H. Orrick Jr., a long time family friend, and judge of the US District Court for the Northern District of California. They enjoyed a wonderful life together, and could often be seen walking on Stinson Beach arm in arm.

On her behalf, donations would be welcome to the San Francisco Symphony, and St. Luke’s Hospital. To support St. Luke’s Hospital, now California Pacific Medical Center’s Mission Bernal campus, gifts can be made to the CPMC Foundation in her memory.