Susan Gale Bonitz

Susan Gale Bonitz died unexpectedly on July 24, 2020 at the age of 66 while living in Genoa, Italy.

Susan is survived by her husband, Dan Lundell, her brother Barry Bonitz and his wife Kelly; cousins Shirley Varcadipane, Glen Reinhardt and David Reinhardt; five nieces and nephews, Rachel (Tony), Emily (Joao), Erik, Lauren and Erich and brothers-in-law Randy (Sue) Lundell and Steve (Patty) Lundell. She was predeceased by her parents, Harry and Helen Bonitz.

Susan was born April 16, 1954 in Dover, New Jersey and grew up in Mine Hill, New Jersey. She graduated from the Douglass College/Rutgers University with a B.S. in biology in 1976 and obtained her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1980 in the College of Biological Sciences. She worked at diverse scientific positions in her career including Genentech, Exxon, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, Schering Plough, and Current Protocols in Molecular Biology. Susan also mentored high school students at Hunterdon Central High School. Later in her career she became a scientific entrepreneur, founding Coordinated Program Development, which worked on infectious disease treatments with funding and support from the National Institute of Health in Bethesda MD. This work has been continued by Matinas Biopharma which purchased the technology she was developing.

She married Dan on May 18, 1985 and they lived in Flemington New Jersey for most of her career. Susan and Dan visited Italy many times, after Susan initially worked with colleagues at the University of Rome during her time at Cold Spring Harbor. They fell in love with Italy, and eventually bought a residence in Genoa, where she and Dan spent an increasing amount of time after both retired.

Susan also loved growing plants and working in the garden from an early age, which sparked her interest in biology. Her interest of biology overlapped with founding of modern molecular biology, which she loved from a young age. Fittingly she earned her Ph.D. in this field and contributed to it over her career.

She is deeply missed by her family, friends, and all who knew her. We will honor her memory with a memorial service beginning at 1:00 pm on August 21, 2021 at Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington NJ. Friends may gather beginning at 12:00 until the time of service at the funeral home. Interment will be private.

The memorial service at 1:00 pm will be livestreamed at https://vimeo.com/583861790/756c0d22af or by

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Donations in memory of Susan can made to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (which supports scientific education and literacy) 1200 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20005 or

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For further information or to leave an online condolence, please visit https://susansmemorial.godaddysites.com/.or

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