Susan Christian

Susan Ann Christian, of Lynnfield, formerly of Arlington passed away on March 29 at age 66, surrounded by loving family. She leaves her husband Russell H. Boekenkroeger and her sons Devin Christian and Ryan Christian Boekenkroeger. She was the daughter of the late Donald & Edna Christian and sister of Karen Christian Gralla of Monterey and the late Sally Mary Christian. She is also survived by many loving aunts, an uncle, a niece, nephews, in laws, cousins and innumerable friends. Susan was an advocate and champion for people with disabilities, especially Autism, and her passing creates a huge gap within their community. Susan graduated from West Springfield High School, received her BA at Elms College and her MS in Counseling at Duquesne University. Susan was an English teacher at West Springfield HS, she was Director of Student Activities at Carnegie-Mellon University, and she was an Administrator at the Historic Albany Foundation. While raising her family, she decorated cakes and arranged flowers because she was good at it and had fun doing it. With the birth of her first son Devin, Susan committed herself to the causes of individuals with disabilities, Autism and communication challenges. In championing Devin's acceptance at the Perkins School, Susan expanded the scope of impairments addressed by the school. She continued her work relentlessly until the moment she left us. For several years Susan was also President of the Lynnfield Cultural Council. An avid follower of the Arts and her many hobbies included gardening, decorating, painting, knitting and reading; devouring mysteries obsessively. Her Funeral will be held at the McDonald Funeral Homes, 19 Yale Ave., Wakefield, MA on Saturday morning at 11AM (4/7/12). In lieu of flowers please send donations to the Growth Fund of L'Arche Irenicon, P.O. Box 1177, Haverhill, MA 01830. http://larcheirenicon.org/ for the future support of adults with disabilities.

Susan chose a L'Arche community for Devin to move into when he turned 22 years old. In 2003, we all had no idea what was ahead. Mother's of special needs children are called upon to be relentless in their pursuit of what is best for their sons and daughters. In many instances, they are up against overwhelming odds to get the services and attention that most of us take for granted for our children. Susan was a strong advocate for her son and his Autism. We recently learned that Devin's acceptance at the Perkins's School opened the way for individuals with other impairements. We learned much later how many places and programs she visited, researched and investigated. Susan was tireless in finding the best place and then making sure her choice was right.

The path was not an easy one, visiting Devin at Gandhi Home became difficult so we often met at the Peddler's Daughter to talk about his transition, her hopes and dreams for Devin and what we could do to help Devin have the best possible life. Susan often would send information about things she thought would be helpful in working with Devin. Devin has now lived at L'Arche for nearly ten years and is an important active member of our community. We were fortunate to have Susan become a strong advocate for our community, she is the one who once we started the planning process for our future found the Narrow Gate architectural firm which is now helping us shape the future of L'Arche Irenicon. We know her spirit and guidance will be with us as we move forward with our future plans.

Irenicon is a L'Arche community and is part of an international federation which began in France in 1963 founded by Jean Vanier. L'Arche communities are founded on the belief that "people with disabilities are necessary for the wholenesss of the body of humanity." We provide homes for adults with intellectual disabilities and the assistants who support them. Our assistants live with and create homes with those with a disability. We have a spiritual life that is supported in a family like environment. Devin has thrived with us but his visits "home" with Mom and Dad are very important to him as well. Now L'Arche Irenicon is looking at our future with an eye to the needs of our residents as they age. Because we provide homes for life, we are pursuing a plan that will meet our needs of flexibility, sustainability and accessibility.

The L'Arche Growth Fund was founded earlier this year to create the capital necessary to support our future plans for the growth and sustainability of Irenicon. If you would like to honor Susan's memory in this way, please make your donations payable to Irenicon, Inc.. Thank you.

Read Susan Christian's Obituary and Guestbook on www.mcdonaldfs.com.

Service

McDonald Funeral Home
19 Yale Ave.
Wakefield , MA US 01880
Saturday, April 7, 2012, 11:00 AM