Susan J. Yates, 71

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. —  On May 13th, 2024, with her family at her side, Susan Jane Yates died peacefully at the South Williamstown farmstead of her partner, Sherwood Guernsey, with whom she joyfully shared her final years.

Born on June 27th, 1952, Susan was the oldest of four sisters raised in Charlotte, Michigan. She spent her childhood corralling her sisters and working in her family’s hardware store. Whether sewing custom dresses or assisting in the Yates Hardware machine shop, her childhood responsibilities set her on a lifelong path as a consummate problem solver. After graduating as high school valedictorian, she enrolled at Michigan State University with a plan to become a medical technician. She soon realized she was making better grades than the pre-med students in her classes and switched majors to Human Medicine. She graduated with high honors and continued on to medical school at MSU, followed by an OB/GYN residency at the University of Iowa.

Susan arrived in Williamstown in 1981, joining Williamstown Medical Associates as their first woman physician. She took pride in every aspect of her work: caring for patients, performing surgery, delivering thousands of babies at the North Adams Regional Hospital (and later Berkshire Medical Center), and ensuring access to reproductive healthcare in the region. In 1992, she became president of the medical staff at NARH and in 1995 began her long tenure as a hospital trustee. Later in her career, Susan went on trips to Haiti to provide care and medical training in rural areas. She served on the board of both Haiti Plunge and the Louison House in North Adams.

When not working, Susan enjoyed being outdoors. She telemarked down Tuckerman Ravine, skied out West with her colleague Chuck O'Neill, ventured out on one waterski on Gun Lake, journeyed on long bike trips with her sister Judy, rode horses on the Great Divide, canoed and ran in the Josh Billings Run Aground, and exercised every morning with a group of women including her dear friend Ruth Harrison. Wherever she lived, she kept up a robust garden with squash, flowers, and, of course, rhubarb for her famously delicious pies.

She was active in the First Congregational Church, singing in the choir and serving in several leadership roles. She was a founding member and President of the Williamstown Meetinghouse Preservation Fund, Inc., a non-profit whose goal is to raise funds to preserve the historic Church building and Meetinghouse.

She will be remembered for her unflagging positivity, work ethic, caring, and generosity. She was a doer who never stopped doing good for her beloved community.

She leaves behind her sisters Judy and Kathryn, her three children, Chris, David, and Libbie, daughters-in-law Gina and Molly, grandsons Marcelo, Joaquin, and Amos, brother-in-law Tom Cizek, four nephews and a niece, along with many others who were family to her, including Andrew Liang, Cynthia, Pieter, Brian, and Lucia Mulder, and their children, and Sherwood Guernsey and his children, Margo, Kate, and Matt, and their children.

She was predeceased by her sister Cynthia, husband Martien Mulder, a son, Jesse, and a grandson, Tobi.

Services will be held at the First Congregational Church, 906 Main Street, Williamstown, at 10:30am on June 15th with a reception to follow at 402 Hancock Road, Williamstown. The family suggests contributions be made to Louison House, the Berkshire Immigrant Center, or the Williamstown Meetinghouse Preservation Fund.