Susan Marcia Broder, 72, died Oct. 24, 2019.
Mrs. Broder was born in the Bronx, New York, to Minnie and Murray Cohen. At age 13, she was stricken with Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes. In 1967, after receiving her bachelor’s degree in romance languages from Queens College in New York City, she married Richard Broder.
The couple moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she taught seventh-and eighth-grade Spanish until their daughter Wendy was born in 1969 and Mrs. Broder became a fulltime mother. The family returned to New York, where daughter Stefanie was born in 1973. After raising her daughters, Mrs. Broder obtained two master’s degrees in education from Adelphi University, eventually becoming a fulltime classroom special education teacher with particular expertise in teaching reading at early grade levels.
In 1991, both of Mrs. Broder’s kidneys failed and her mother donated a kidney for a transplant. This kidney lasted 25 years, 15 more than doctors had predicted.
In 1999, following a stroke, Mrs. Broder retired from teaching. The following year, the couple moved to Tucson, where she became a Reading Seed volunteer and volunteered at two local hospices (TMC and Casa de la Luz) for seven years.
Survivors include her husband of 52 years, Richard P. Broder; daughters, Wendy Lynne Broder of Las Vegas and Stefanie Jill Fernandez of Valley Stream, New York; sister, Lori Corrado of Rotonda, Florida; and three grandchildren.
A celebration of life, officiated by Rabbi Thomas Louchheim of Congregation Or Chadash, will be held at the family’s home on a date to be determined.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or the charity of your choice. Arrangements were made by Evergreen Mortuary.
