Susan C. Pester

DOVER, PA – Susan C. (Nelson) Pester, 77, passed away Wednesday, October 23, 2024. Born April 5, 1947, in Staten Island, NY, she was a daughter of the late Gilbert and Alice (Andresen) Nelson.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 2:00 PM, Saturday, November 16, 2024, at Heffner Funeral Chapel & Crematory, Inc. in York, Pennsylvania with Pastor Joshua Rhone officiating the service. There will be a time of gathering for family and friends from 1-2:00 PM at the funeral home. Internment will take place at Prospect Hill Cemetery at a later date.

Susan loved adventures, which was reflected throughout her life. She was blessed with a beautiful singing voice, and one could say Susan “sang her way through life.” In her teenage years she worked at Girl Scout Camp and became a water safety instructor – never afraid of the snakes and snapping turtles that shared the lake with her. Susan sang at home, in Spring Valley High School musicals, with the church choir, the Rockland County Choral Society, as well as throughout her college years. Notably, one of her proudest accomplishments was performing at the 1964-65 World’s Fair in New York.

As a military wife she lived in New Jersey, Hawaii, Germany and settled in Arizona upon retirement. Later she moved to Texas to be closer to her daughters and spent her last years living with Jennifer and Andrea in Pennsylvania. Susan found musical theater wherever she landed and favored her role as “Gilda“ in Fiddler on the Roof.

For much of her working life, Susan was a Patient Advocate in Civil Service for the Department of the Army, from which she retired in 2007 after working for over 20 years. She loved helping people negotiate the system to ensure they received the treatment they needed and deserved.

Susan leaves behind her daughters Alexandra, Jennifer, Andréa and her grandchildren, Nicholas, Skyler, and Isaac. She is also remembered by her siblings Elsa Bengel, Barbara Stone, Kathryn Simons, Frank Bohlke and her former husband Steven Pester. She was pre-deceased by her stepbrother Henry "Chic" Bohlke and stepsister Sally Coughlin.

In honor of Susan's life, memorial contributions can be made to a community musical theater group to continue her love for music or to a charity of your choice.

Condolences may be extended via HeffnerCare.com.