Susan Mellen Hahn ’80

Susan lost a 16-month battle with lung cancer May 17, 2003. When discovered, the disease had already metastasized to her brain, ultimately causing Alzheimer's-like symptoms. She died at home, surrounded by her family.

After attending Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pa., Susan majored in English at Princeton, then obtained a master's from Temple University. English literature was a lifelong love, even in the final stages of her debilitating illness.

Susan began her career in market research and, after Temple, joined American Express, where she rose to account manager. She helped several co-workers overcome personal problems, and after her death, family members said they experienced an outpouring of sympathy from American Express unlike anything they'd ever known. Several hundred people attended her funeral.

Susan was even more devoted to her husband, Bill Hahn, and their children. Their relationship was a rare, true-love marriage. Engaged six weeks after they met, they were never apart for the next 16 years, until her death.

Lynn Wendell '77 admiringly described her sister as the "smartest of her siblings." This writer will always remember her delicious, unconventional sense of humor.

In addition to her husband and sister, Susan is survived by her two children, four brothers, and her parents.

The Class of 1980