(1919-2017)

“Because I was born on December 6, 1919, I always knew in an unexpressed smug little way that I had something a bit more special than anyone else in my little world: MY birthday was on St. Nicholas Day. Santa Claus himself and I had a celebration in common.”

So begins the autobiography of Sister Susanne Hofweber, the second of six children born to August and Emily (Campbell) Hofweber. Baptized as Elizabeth Jane, she was the middle child of a set of three – with August (called Jack) the oldest and sister Dorothy born a year and a half after her – that was followed by a baby brother, Jimmy, who died at birth. Later, two more children, Billy and Marian, came into the family. ...

Sister Susanne was nine years old when the Great Depression hit. Her father lost his business and eventually the family was evicted from their home. As time went on, August was able to rebuild a business and even held two patents, one for the first self-contained domestic water heater and another for a process that allowed graphite to be used as a lubricant. With other investors, he was able to build that process into a thriving oil-refining company.

Read more about Sister Susanne (pdf).

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221.