Susan Golden died from complications of young onset Alzheimer's Sunday January 17th at the age of 61. Susan was born in Fairfield Ct and early on showed an irrepressible curiosity and love with all things in the natural world. She was eager to adopt every animal she encountered and if she could not get permission from her parents she would sneak them into the house, up to five or six at a time. Birds, lizards, rabbits, hamsters, cats and dogs all found a home with Susan. She was fascinated with how the world worked and pursued interests in science, astronomy and people from very different cultures. Susan was a gifted singer, a soprano with a wide ranging taste that included folk, jazz standards, show tunes and opera. She studied voice at Boston University and unfortunately developed vocal damage and was not able to sing for two years. She transformed her disappointment into determination and changed her major to cultural anthropology in which she excelled, winning a prize from BU in 1979 as the top anthropology student. Susan had a taste for adventure and a deep sense of humor. She particularly loved her travels to the Galapagos, Bali and Tanzania, seizing the opportunity to try everything. Swimming with sharks in the Galapagos, "Only the baby sharks bite" and immersing herself deeply in the artistic culture of Bali. Her sense of humor was quirky and always available. A gifted mimic, she could at a moment's notice launch into impersonations of every familiar cartoon character; often carrying on extended and hilarious conversations with herself as each character. Susan was always proud to mention that Mo and Shemp Howard of the three stooges were family as they were her distant cousins. Susan was most passionate about creating opportunity for adolescents and threw herself into her work with non-profits, first as a program director at ABCD and then as Executive Director of Cambridge Community Services, a position she held for 26 years. She developed a variety of innovative programs in which her active collaboration with the City of Cambridge, the Sports Museum and a variety of funders and local non-profits led to decades of successful work and a lasting, positive impact for vulnerable youth. She was most proud when an adolescent who was served in one of these programs would return years later as an adult, eager to "give back" by mentoring youth and passing on the kind of support that that had benefited them. Susan's biggest challenge by far was her battle with young onset Alzheimer's and she approached it with the same curiosity, determination and humor that was central to who she was. When she discovered that she suddenly had trouble buckling a seat belt and buttoning her clothes she diagnosed herself. "I have dressing apraxia", she announced in April of 2012. She soon learned that she had a rare form of young onset Alzheimer's called Posterior Cortical Atrophy. PCA as it is referred to initially effected Susan's ability to process visual images but not her language or memory. That meant that she could not dress or feed herself but could have nuanced conversations about world events, relationships and most cruelly what was happening to her brain. Susan, though carried on, giving talks to clinicians and other caregivers who worked with the disease, despite being effected herself. " Please forgive me if I have some trouble finding words sometimes but I think it is important to understand what this is like" As the disease progressed she required constant assistance as she could no longer do anything for herself. She managed this by insisting on caregivers who shared her interest in world affairs, science and politics. Once, after deciding not to hire a particular caregiver she explained, "They don't know anything about the Senate Torture Report or Omnibus Spending Bill." In the end though Alzheimer's was relentless, progressing as it has with the 700,000 who will die from it in the US this year, and the 5.3 million Americans currently effected including 200,000 with young onset. Currently there is no effective treatment for the disease. Those impacted will struggle as Susan did, standing up and continuing on while facing a disease that is progressive and always fatal. Susan's large extended family, friends and most of all her husband of 32 years, sister Gerri and cats Zeta and Miso will miss her dearly. Her passing brings an overwhelming sadness but also a deep sense of pride in the way in which in which she struggled to battle this disease, knowing that in the end she could not win. In lieu of flowers please contribute to the Alzheimer's Association: Alzheimer's Association 480 Pleasant Street Watertown, MA 02472