Exton, PA - Susan (Hill) Herrick Bosworth, who called Stillwater home for 40 years, passed away peacefully in Exton, Pennsylvania on June 3, 2025, surrounded by family.

Susan was born in Champaign-Urbana, IL in 1933 to Marvin Theodore and Nigel Pauline Hill Herrick. Her father taught English at the University of Illinois, and Susan loved growing up in a college town. She also cherished summers at Marvin's parents' house in Ithaca, NY, where grandpa Glenn Herrick taught entomology at Cornell. Susan attended college at Cornell for two years before moving home to finish her degree in English Literature from the U. of I. There she met one of her father's students, John Bosworth, backstage at a play he was in. They married in 1954.

Susan worked as a research assistant for a year on the papers of writer H.G. Wells acquired by the U. of I. Library, then joined John for two years in a tar-paper shack near Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, as he served in the Army. In 1957 the couple moved to New York City for John to explore acting and graduate school at Columbia University. Susan worked as a secretary for the director of auditorium events and arts at the 92nd Street Y, then for the Dept. of Biostatistics at Columbia. In 1961 they spent the summer touring Europe with her parents, driving a VW convertible from Scotland to Sicily.

In 1962 Susan and John arrived in Stillwater, OK, where John began teaching in the Philosophy Dept. of Oklahoma State University. Susan was active in the art and film guilds, local garden club and public library committees. She enjoyed painting, whether on canvas or salvaged furniture. Her unique home was snugly packed with art prints from Gothic to Art Nouveau styles, from Gaugin to Hopper, the Wyeths, Gorman and Jerome Tiger. Susan was a big movie fan and kept a wall of video tapes from which anyone was welcome to borrow, guided by her Rolodexes listing each film with her review.

Susan was overjoyed to become a mother of three and to raise them in a wonderful community on North Jefferson Street, where the Bosworth driveway was a central gathering spot. She was a patient and loving mother who delighted in reading children's books, encouraging the kids' creativity, taking walks with them and the family dog, and volunteering at school. Every summer, she and John would drive the kids around the U.S. in the station wagon, visiting 46 states.

For ten years Susan volunteered full-time at St. Andrew's Thrift Shop, eager to provide a needed resource, with the bonus of working with good friends. She managed the children's section, and her own family would often find dozens of stuffed animals filling the washer and jigsaw puzzles filling the dining room table that needed to be confirmed complete before selling. She also was a photograph organizer at the Payne County Historical Society. She shared John's interest in current events and politics, supporting his volunteer work advocating for vulnerable elderly citizens and as county Democratic Party chairman. She was passionate about equal access to education, healthcare, and women's family-planning services.

In 2002 Susan and John moved to his hometown of Bloomington-Normal, IL. She enjoyed friends, her garden, train trips to Chicago for museums (usually reading every label) and shows. She loved books, especially biographies. John passed away in 2016, and Susan moved to Pennsylvania in 2018 to be near family.

Susan was endlessly curious about the world, open-minded and assumed the best of new people. She would freely admit to not being a great cook, but decent at sewing and playing pool. She was a good painter, excellent writer, amazing listener, and tremendous mother.

Susan is survived by her three children: Matt (of MN), Joe (of PA), and Kate (of NY); their spouses Jennifer, Karyn, and Dan; and grandchildren Marshall, Janelle, and Ryan. They will all miss her humble, generous spirit and beautiful smile.