Obituaries

Susan M. Davidson, 58, passed away peacefully in the presence of her loving family at home, on Ridge Rd., July 24, 2011. She was an amazing woman who fought hard against pancreatic cancer for almost three years, and beat the odds.

Born August 18, 1952, in Queens, NY, she was the daughter of William H. Martinson, who survives her, and the late Jean Roessler Martinson. A graduate of Mepham High School in Bellmore, NY, Susan earned her Bachelor's degree in Human Development at Cornell University and her Master's in Education from SUNY Cortland. She married her husband, Norman Davidson, in 1976. After a stint teaching, Susan took time to raise their two sons full time. Once they matured, she returned to work, most recently as a tax preparer at Sciarabba Walker & Co, where she worked for over 10 years.

She had a lifelong passion for education and encouraging creativity. As a mother, she had a special knack for inspiring original ideas, projects and crafts, and promoting any and all interests of her children (or their friends). She frequently immersed herself in the community, particularly activities geared toward education and literacy. She volunteered in the school reading room, helped sew costumes for school plays, ran the book room at the church rummage sales and was involved in the early years of the Lansing Community Library.

Susan was a nurturer. She was a lover of family, children, cats of all sizes, quilting and pie-making (not necessarily in that order). At family and social gatherings she could often be found tucked away on the floor surrounded by children, and the occasional dog or cat who joined the party. Now-grown relatives remember her as the Aunt who would always spend time to listen to them as children, tuck them in at night or come upstairs to read them a story. And she would ALWAYS kiss them goodnight-even if they were bad. More recently she was a constant source of love and support for her young nephews.

She had a knack for finding out someone's favorite pie, and would bake for almost any occasion. Her cherry pies were legendary, famous for their light flaky crusts. She passed her crust recipe on to her friends and family, however, her masterful technique is something they continue to strive for. For almost three years, she received bi-weekly chemotherapy treatments in New York City, staying with her eldest son Philip. While there, she quickly set up a second pie-making operation and was often found baking at all hours of the night. Even in her last weeks, she could not be discouraged from baking four strawberry rhubarb pies for her oncologist and his team, and a batch of snickerdoodles for her nephews. Nothing made her happier than the ability to provide.

In addition to her father, Susan is survived by her husband of 35 years, Norman "Lin" Davidson; her sons, Philip L. Davidson of New York, NY, Brett W. Davidson of Boston, MA; sister, Laura Martinson and her daughter, Chaazi Munyanya, of Ft. Collins, CO; brother, William R. Martinson and wife Barb, and their children, Brian and Timothy, of Merrick, NY; in addition, she leaves behind a large, loving extended family.

In lieu of flowers, those wishing to contribute to Susan's memory may donate to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (www.pancan.org), or the Lansing Community Library, 27 Auburn Rd., Lansing, NY 14882.

A public funeral service, officiated by Pastor Jane Sautter, will begin at 11am, July 30, 2011, at Lansing United Methodist Church, 32 Brickyard Rd., Lansing, NY.