Mary Suzanne Waters

Suzanne Somers Waters, an extraordinary mother, grandmother, wife, businesswoman and volunteer, died December 19, 2012 at Country Arch Care Center in Pittstown. She was 88.

Born in Atlantic City on June 20, 1924, and raised in nearby Margate, Sue was a graduate of Atlantic City High School and of Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., where she was elected student government president during her senior year.

In 1946, she married Robert B. Waters, whom she had met on a family vacation in the Adirondacks in 1940. They settled in South Jersey, and Bob went to work for Sues father, Warren Somers, at the Atlantic City Lumber Co. She and Bob lived in Atlantic County for many years, first in Northfield, then in Absecon and Linwood.

In 1958, Sue and Bob opened a retail business, Home Handyman Center, in Pleasantville. It was a home center store, years ahead of its time, anticipating the big-box stores of today. Bob ran the store and Sue managed the finances, and the business thrived until they retired and sold it in the late 1990s.

Even as a mother of young children, Sue was a volunteer with many organizations, and her intelligence and warmth often landed her in positions of leadership. She was president of the Charity League of Atlantic County in 1955-56, and she served on the board of directors of the Florence Crittenton Home of Atlantic City and the Family Service Association. An avid bird-watcher, she volunteered for many years at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Oceanville, N.J.

Until slowed by age, Sue and Bob were adventurous travelers. They bicycled widely in the U.S. and Europe. They backpacked in the Appalachians, Rockies and Sierra Nevada. They trekked in the Himalayas. They cross-country skied in Norway, Canada and all over the U.S. And for many years they organized, subsidized and presided over a family ski trip in the Rockies over Christmas; the trips did much to knit 15 members and three generations of a close family even closer.

In 2003, they moved to a retirement community in Hightstown, and more recently to an assisted living community in Flemington, near their daughter Kip Rebick. Bob died in early 2011.

Sue is survived by daughter Kip and son-in-law Charles Rebick, of Annandale; son Rob Waters and daughter-in-law Eileen Heyes, of Raleigh, N.C.; daughter Christine Waters and son-in-law Michael Miller, of Manlius, N.Y.; and seven grandchildren: Sarah Rebick, of Boulder, Colo.; Josh Rebick, of Burlington, Vt.; Jeremy Waters, of San Jose, Calif.; Christopher Waters, of Raleigh; Hannah Miller, of Cambridge, Mass.; Tovah Miller, of Toronto, Canada; and Eli Miller, of Manlius.

To honor Sues concern for the environment and love of birds, memorial contributions may be made to the Friends of Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 355, Oceanville, N.J. 08231. The refuge recently sustained extensive damage from Hurricane Sandy.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home of Flemington. Visit www.holcombe-fisher for further information or to send condolences.