First, thanks again to everyone who sent me such kind words of support.  Small steps are made.  To that end, there is now a place to post peoples memories, photos, etc. http://www.lastingmemories.com/susan-fera-assmann

Her bell ringing friends have already started ringing handbells to celebrate her life, and they are collected here.

https://bb.ringingworld.co.uk/event.php?id=13017

The thing I notice most frequently, (at times hourly) and didn't expect was to be busily distracting myself, and encounter something that weeks ago, I would have told her about.  Or one of the video series that we used to watch together would post a new episode, and it hits me, she isn't here to tell, or to wait until we can find time to watch it together.

Luckily the other case, where I remember a question, hasn't happened anywhere near as often.

Here is the text of her obituary.

Susan Fera Assmann June 26, 1956-May 30, 2020


Susan Fera Assmann, 63, lost her courageous battle with cancer on Saturday, May 30, 2020 at home. She was born in Princeton, NJ, the daughter of the late Frederick and Mary Assmann. Susan is survived by her husband and soulmate, Jeffrey Del Papa of Waltham, MA, her sister, Sarah Assmann of State College, PA, her brother-in-law Charles Rury and nephew Michael Rury, her mother-in-law Gloria, and other in-laws (brother, sister, and spouses)  Cindy, Daniel, Ken, Johan, Laura, and 3 additional nephews.  


Susan was the class of 1974 valedictorian at Hopewell Valley Central High School in Pennington, NJ. She graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1978 and earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1983 and a M.S. in biostatistics from the University of Massachusetts School of Public Health, Amherst in 1994.  She has an Erdös number of 2. 

Susan was a Principal Statistician at HealthCore (formerly New England Research Institute} in Watertown, MA where she worked for a week shy of 26 years, following a career as a mathematics professor at UMass Lowell and at Regis College in Weston, MA. Susan was the co-author of over 60 scientific publications and her statistical analyses of data from clinical trials will aid many patients. 


Susan was an avid reader, a student of the English art of change ringing, an enthusiastic amateur harpsichordist, and an ardent supporter of the early music community in Boston. Memorial contributions can be made to SOHIP (Society for Historically Informed Performance; http://www.sohipboston.org/) or to cancer research at Dana Farber via (https://donate.pmc.org/JD0076). A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Online condolences may be made at