Thursday, October 1, 2026
Our mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, cousin, sister and friend, Pauline Stusser, died on March 25 after a brief and steep decline in her health that started when she fell in her apartment on Oct. 6 last year. She was 91 and had lived nearly independently in her own apartment in Seattle until she fell.
She was born on Aug. 11, 1934, in Portland, Oregon, to Tillie (Goldberg) Jacobson (1900-88), born in San Francisco, and Ralph Jacobson (1892-1977), born in a small town near Odesa, Ukraine. Her parents’ lives were like those of many turn-of-the-century Jews, and included periods of breathtaking poverty and hard work that enabled them to live solid middle-class lives by the time Pauline was born.
Pauline’s only sibling, Philip Saul Jacobson (1927-94), left home when she was only 11 years old, leaving her to grow up as something of an only child. That enabled her parents to support her interests in music and learning, despite their humble origins.
As a child and teenager, Pauline was a student of singing and piano, and performed in small locations around Portland. She won an essay contest at about age 12 on the subject, “What the Statue of Liberty Means to Me,” and read it live on the radio.
Her career as an amateur bowler was lifelong; she received trophies starting in the 1950s and continued to participate in leagues and the sport until the 2010s.
After graduating from Ulysses S. Grant High School in Portland at age 16, Pauline entered the University of Washington in Seattle. At UW, she joined the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority.
She met her future husband, Richard E. (Dick) Stusser (1929-2000) at a B’nai Brith Youth Organization dance near the UW in 1952; they were married from Sept. 5, 1954 until his passing on Nov. 2, 2000.
Pauline and Dick had three children, all of whom survive her. They are Daniel Stusser (Shannon), of Olympia; Laurence Stusser (Lori) of Newcastle, Washington; and Terri Schuster, also of Newcastle. She also leaves behind nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
She and her husband were among a handful of families who, in the late 1960s, pooled funds to establish a new synagogue in North Seattle, Congregation Beth Shalom.
She left an example as a leader in other community and charitable organizations throughout her adult life, including B’nai Brith Women, Hadassah, Brandeis National Women’s Committee, and City of Hope.
A partial newspaper clipping found among her papers revealed that she sang as the featured entertainment at a community fundraising dinner sometime during the 1960s or 70s.
Pauline loved to host parties and to entertain her friends and family; she was famous for her sweet treats, which she made in huge quantities for every happy occasion.
Pauline was a fan of opera and mahjong. She was also fortunate to have traveled to many places by airplane and cruise ship, including Canada’s Maritime Provinces, Caribbean nations, Israel, Spain, France, Italy, Morocco, and England.
Pauline expressed gratitude for her long and blessed life, and acknowledged and missed those who passed on before her. The family held a funeral for her on March 29 in Seattle.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that remembrances be sent to City of Hope or Kline Galland.
