Susan Hershey Bobek

Susan Hershey Bobek, 76, devoted wife and mother, passed away on September 12, 2022 in Garden City, Idaho. Susan was a classical music aficionado, a seeker of adventure, and the cornerstone of her family. She died surrounded by her husband Steven Charles Bobek and two daughters, Christina and Patricia.

Susan was born in Boise, ID on October 29, 1945 to Benjamin T. Hershey and Edna Maxine (Buck) Hershey. Her alma maters include Boise High School and Boise College. While at Boise College, Susan studied classical music under Dr. Griffith Bratt. She played the organ and sang in the choir at Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church. After graduating from Boise College in 1968, she moved to Rochester, NY to attend Rochester Theological Seminary. She earned her master’s degree in theology.

Susan then moved to Los Angeles, CA and worked at a church as a choir director. Soon after moving to Southern California, her brother Ron and friend Jim Taney, played matchmaker, arranging a blind date for her. Susan met Steve that night and a year later. They married on September 29, 1974 at Saint Michael’s Episcopal Cathedral in Boise, Idaho.

Susan and Steve made the greater Los Angeles area their home for the next 39 years. They lived in Van Nuys, CA and later settled in Simi Valley, CA. After they married, Susan worked for nearly a decade at various Los Angeles mainstays including at the famed Saul Bass & Associates, television stations KCOP and KCBS, and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Susan left her job at UCLA for a very important reason. She had her first daughter, Christina, on January 1, 1984. Exactly two years, two months and 17 days later, Susan had her second daughter, Patricia.

Becoming a mother became her full-time job and arguably the one that fulfilled her the most. Her time, energy, devotion, compassion, creativity and unconditional love were the greatest gifts she gave her family. Susan was a maverick for creative endeavors. She sewed Halloween costumes, repurposing old, plastic milk jugs into freshly painted Pink Power Ranger masks. She reached perhaps the epitome of motherhood while driving her children in her minivan to gymnastics competitions, ballet recitals, swimming lessons, girl scout meetings and countless other school activities. She was the family historian, making sure the milestones as well as the mundane were memorialized with a photo. She inspired school projects, encouraged imagination and play, and most importantly, taught her daughters that looking out for each other was of paramount importance.

Susan loved to travel. Prior to having children, Susan and Steve traveled Europe including London, Amsterdam and Paris. They would later spend time in Hong Kong and Taiwan. After having children, they would pack up the minivan and take family road trips to National Parks. Later in life, Susan and Patricia traveled to Jordan and Israel with a group from Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church. Susan, having a penchant for adventures, rode a camel on this trip through Petra, Jordan with Patricia by her side (and also atop an ungulate).

She volunteered for several years at the Simi Valley library, teaching English as a second language to immigrants. In 2000, she worked for the U.S. Census Bureau going door-to-door helping people complete their census forms.

Susan loved Boise. Every summer the family would make the drive from Simi Valley to spend time with their Idaho relatives. During the early years of motherhood, Susan returned to care for her ailing grandmother. Years later, she would once again come back to look after her own mother who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. When Steve retired after nearly 30 years in the entertainment industry they moved up to Boise to live in the City of Trees.

Susan was preceded in death by her brother, Ronald L. Hershey. Susan is also survived by her sister-in-law, Marsha Anderson, niece Pamela Hershey, and nephews Jeffrey and Bradley Hershey.

Susan lived by the mantra, “I’ll try anything twice.”