The Life of Susan Hale Whitmore
May 9, 1948 – March 27, 2022
Susan Hale Whitmore, a teacher, illustrator, historical researcher and advocate for the poor, died Sunday, March 27, 2022 at 9 am at Niagara Falls Memorial Center.
She was born on May 8, 1948 in Washington, D.C. to Frank Clifford Whitmore, Jr. and his wife Martha Burling (Mimi) Kremers Whitmore. She was the youngest of four children. She was predeceased by her eldest twin brothers Geoffrey Mason and John Kremers Whitmore. She is survived by her sister Katherine Burling Whitmore.
Susan was the consort of the late Terrance Frank Burns. She was also predeceased by her former husband John Andrew Temple.
Susie, as she was known to family and friends, attended the Sandy Springs Friends (Quaker) School near Washington, D.C. She graduated from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, OH in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She received her Teaching Certificate from Ohio that same year.
Susan came from several prominent family members. Her fraternal grandfather, Frank Clifford Whitmore, Sr., was world renowned chemist who was published in several international Chemistry Journals. Her father was a geologist for both the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic and traveled the world with his expeditions. Susan also worked for the Smithsonian, cataloging and illustrating parts of their collections. On her mother’s side, Susie’s grandfather Ernest Kremers was a partner in the well-known architectural and construction firm of Wright and Kremers, whose firm designed and build many fine structures in Niagara Falls and Western New York including the First Government Housing Project in the United States sponsored by the Federal government.
Other survivors include her step children Peter and Emily (Chris Keck) Burns, John, Richard (Amanda), Travis (Angela) Temple and Kathryn Temple Yablonski. Rebecca Burns died in 2019.
Her Whitmore family members that survive are her aunt “Hootie” Whitmore, and nephews Dale and Gary Whitmore, and James and David Whitmore.,
Susan is also survived by her good friends and historical buddies Terry Lasher Winslow, Chuck Curran, Rosemary Conte, Lew Buttery, Molly Lewis and Dan Davis. Frank and Liz Houseman were longtime friends and helped Susan through her last years.
Susan taught in various positions in her career ending with being a trainer for multiple companies throughout the county. She chose to retire to Niagara Falls, where she had visited on many occasions to spend time with her Kremer grandparents. She enjoyed visiting them in their Upper Mountain Road home, designed by grandpa in the former orchard of the Schoellkopf estate on the Niagara Escarpment. After Ernest’s retirement, her grandparents took over the only double apartment of The Jefferson on Jefferson Avenue in the city of Niagara Falls.
This led to spending her retirement years research the Kremers line and getting involved with historic preservation. Her last official “teaching” assignment was to teach people to lead historic preservation tours in the City. She was also on the board of the Suspension Bridge Historical Preservation Society.
We can never forget Susan’s car which we called the Tank. It seemed like it was at least 87 years old. She called it Turtle. With all its dents and boo boos, it provided her with a means to discover her Niagara home and visit relatives in her final years.
Always the one who shared her not only knowledge but also her possessions, Susan’s last gift was that of herself through her anatomical donation to Connect Life.
Private services for family and friends were held on May 28, 2022. Memorial donations can be made in Susan’s name to the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center or to the Suspension Bridge Historical Preservation Society.
Professional Arrangements are under the care of the Goodlander family, OTTO REDANZ FUNERAL HOME, 2215 MILITARY ROAD, NIAGARA FALLS, NY (716-297-9007). Share condolences at GOODLANDERCARES.com
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