Suzanne DeTurk
Suzanne Fay (Snyder) DeTurk of Quechee, VT passed away on Friday, May 20, 2022 at the age of 93 at DHMC, Lebanon, NH. Suzanne was born in Philadelphia, PA, August 4,
1928, the daughter of Dr. Thomas Butler Snyder and Barbara Hansel Snyder. Sue grew up along French Creek in Kimberton, by Kennedy Bridge in a house which is now the Kimberton Waldorf School. During WWII her family moved to Pine Forge, PA, to the former Rutter Mansion along the Manatawny . After graduating from high school, Sue met and married Harold P. DeTurk. With Harold, Sue traveled the eastern states by car from Florida, to Michigan, Maine and Canada. An independent, hardworking person who took great pride in her work and her family, Sue worked at Superior Tube, a steel company in Collegeville, PA for 20 years as she raised
her two children, Glenn (Skip) and David. A strong and confident swimmer, boater, and waterskier, Sue often recalled many fond memories of time spent on lake Wallenpaupack in the Poconos, where she once got eleven skiers up behind her Chris Craft. Sue also lived in Oley, PA, where her husband was born and raised , and for a few years owned and operated a general store in East Wakefield, NH . Sue spent the second half of her life in the Woodstock and Quechee area after moving to the area in 1974. She found the passion of her life while working as a pacer technician in the pacemaker clinic at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. In her decades at DHMC, Sue developed many strong and lasting relationships with doctors, patients, and colleagues. Over the past twenty years, Sue has worked extensively through Project Pacer International and the Boston Cardiac Foundation to collect pacemakers and coordinate missions to implant pacers around the world in patients who could not otherwise afford them. As
Director of the Boston Cardiac Foundation, Sue collaborated with and trained many health care professionals during over 25 consecutive trips to India, as well as multiple trips to Bolivia, Paraguay, China, and Rwanda . Sue remained in contact with many of the doctors and patients she met through her work and held great fondness for the people and experiences of her foreign travels. While she enjoyed recounting highlights (dinner with the president & first lady of Paraguay, an audience with Sai Baba, an Indian spiritual master, the warm hospitality of Project Pacer’s doctors, and visiting wonders of the world like the Taj Mahal, Stone Soldiers of Shanghai, Iguazu Falls, and horseback riding through tea plantations in Nepal), she also greatly appreciated the more unusual and adventurous aspects of her travels, like surviving a coup attempt in Asuncion, an earthquake in Chile, a complete power outage in the midst of a Brazil/Paraguay soccer game, and a leap from a moving vehicle in Delhi. Among the many hobbies Sue enjoyed throughout her life were knitting, clock-making, decoupage, gardening, cooking, puzzles, and reading. She spent most of her
later years watching the Patriots and Red Sox, rarely missing a game. Her passion for New England teams was eclipsed only by her love of her grandchildren. Sue was a familiar site along the sidelines of her grandchildren’s sporting and performance events. Suzanne was predeceased by her husband, Harold P. DeTurk, and her brothers, Robert and Thomas Snyder. Surviving her are her two children, Glenn (Joan) DeTurk, and David (Ann) DeTurk, three grandchildren, Christopher (Dunstable, MA), and
Rebecca and Dylan DeTurk (Hartland, VT). In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to: Dartmouth Health Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship 23226 (Please include number and note that donation is in memory of Suzanne DeTurk.) Send to: Medical and Healthcare Advancement Dartmouth Health One Medical Center Drive. HB 7070 Lebanon, NH 03756 Private services will be held at a later date. An online guest book can be found at cabotfh.com