On March 26, 2020, Susan Baldi Edelstein, beloved wife of Dr. Mark Edelstein, passed away at the age of 73 after a valiant 10-year struggle with the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.
Born on April 16, 1946, in Sacramento, California, Susan was the first child of Professor Charles Rick and Martha Overholts Rick. Raised in Davis, California, she earned a BS degree in Nursing from the University of San Francisco in 1968 and an MS degree in Biodysfunction and Nursing in 1972 from the University of California.
After several years working as a surgical scrub nurse and head nurse while also teaching part-time at both the community college and university levels, she was appointed Director of Health Services at Santa Rosa Junior College. There she spent the next 29 years, serving in both administrative and faculty roles. She was widely recognized as a skilled and inspiring educator.
Like her mother, Susan was a talented artist, and like her father, she loved hiking and camping in the Sierras and traveling extensively in South America and the Galapagos Islands. Susan was an exceptionally creative, kind and generous person with a profound connection to the natural world and all of its creatures. The love she gave so wholeheartedly to the world was returned by her family and her many friends, with whom she had deep and abiding bonds.
She met her husband, Mark, when they served together on a college accreditation team in 1996. Both had been married previously. Over the next 24 years, they shared a passion for theater, art and music as well as hiking, running, skiing , sailing and kayaking. They also traveled widely with friends and family, visiting five continents and dozens of countries. Susan was an intrepid and resilient adventurer, always ready to embrace a new experience, challenge or destination.
Susan is survived by her son, Daniel Baldi, his wife, Angie, and their two children, Alex and Derek. Her heart was full of love for them all, as well as for her brother, Dr. John Rick, his wife, Rosa, and their two children, Mathew and Sarah.
Memorial services will be held both in New Hampshire and California, once it is again safe for people to gather.
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