Sue Ellen (Frederick) Gruber

Sue Ellen (Frederick) Gruber died peacefully at her home in South Hadley on March 24 after a long, progressive illness. The daughter of the late Orlan and Mildred (Maston) Frederick, she was born on February 25, 1946 in Harrisville, WV, and raised, along with her two brothers, in the neighboring rural community of Smithville. Sue graduated from Harrisville High School in 1962. She then proceeded to Glenville State College, where her interest in biology developed into a career in that field. As a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, she joined a laboratory that was exploring plant cells with the electron microscope. With the higher magnification afforded by this instrument, she helped image and define a new structure, the microbody, that plays an important role in the process of photosynthesis as well as in seed germination. During this time, she also became acquainted with fellow graduate student Peter Gruber, her future husband. She went on to earn a doctorate degree in Botany, with a minor in Biochemistry, in 1970. A year later, Sue and Peter were married in Smithville. In 1973, Sue joined the Biology faculty at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley. Over the next thirty years, she taught a variety of courses, from introductory biology to cell biology to electron microscopy. She also sponsored and guided students who furthered research on the inner structure and function of plant cells, using not only electron microscopy but biochemical tools as well. Sue's contributions, among others, provided confirming evidence that land plants evolved from a particular line of green algae and tackled the elusive question of whether a scaffolding network helps organize the genetic material in the plant nucleus. Sue and Peter maintained residence in South Hadley throughout. Daughter Amelia was born in 1977 and son Eric in 1985. Sue and family enjoyed hiking and outings to natural or historical landmarks. At home, she liked to read and found joy in music. The children have fond memories of the special themed birthday cakes she crafted and baked for them, and of the intricate costumes she sewed for them every Halloween. Among various travels, Sue and her family cherished summertime visits to her childhood home in West Virginia. With steadily worsening disabilities, Sue had to retire from her work earlier than she had wished. While more confined at home, she retained an interest in local and national events, music, literature and baseball. She enjoyed visits from family, challenging crossword puzzles, and playing board games. Her illness limited her physically, but she provided a selfless example of strength and perseverance to those in her presence. In recent years she benefited greatly from the personal care and companionship given by Robin Keller of Hadley and from the kind support and care provided by the Cooley Dickinson visiting nurses and, most recently, the hospice nurses and staff. Surviving, in addition to her husband, are daughter Amelia (Gruber) Cohn and her husband Peter Cohn of Alexandria, VA; son Eric Gruber and his wife Julie Mesiano of Haddon Heights, NJ; grandchildren Zoe Cohn and Benjamin Cohn; brother John Edgar Frederick and his wife Anne (Zsilli) Frederick; brother Kenneth Frederick; and niece Ann-Catherine (Frederick) Browne and her husband Francis Browne, and their daughters Elizabeth and Emily. A celebration of Sue's life will take place at a date and location yet to be determined. In the meantime, if so inclined, one may direct donations in Sue's memory to any local, national or international humanitarian or conservation organization.