Faunce-Zimmerman (Hass), Susan Vaughn—January 29, 1939-December 2, 2020
Susan Hass of Omaha, Nebraska joined our class with most of us in Fall 1957 and immediately became involved in college drama. That Fall, for example, she played the good angel in Christopher Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus.” The following Spring, she had the role of Muriel McComber in Eugene O’Neill’s “Ah Wilderness” that prompted the S&B review to state she “was perfect. She was the right mixture of adolescent naivete and shrewdness.” She also became an active member of Grinnell Players and the National Collegiate Players and was elected to membership of Pi Epsilon Delta, an honorary society for participants in collegiate theater.
She somehow managed to find time her junior year in Loose Hall to serve on its student advisory board (Baffleboard). She majored in Speech and obtained her B.A. degree with the rest of our class on June 4, 1961.
Promptly thereafter she and Stephen Alden Faunce (’60) were married on campus in Herrick Chapel. The following Fall she obtained her first job, teaching junior-high speech and reading in Iowa City while Stephen was working for Procter & Gamble. The two of them later had two sons, Jeff and David Faunce.
After she and Stephen were divorced, Susan was a student at United Theological Seminary (“UTS”) of the Twin Cities, from which she obtained the Master of Divinity degree in 1986. Subsequently she was ordained as a pastor in the United Church of Christ (UCC).
While at UTS, she met and fell in love with a fellow student, James Zimmerman, and they were married on December 28, 1984 at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Since they planned to be co-pastors, they decided it would be less confusing if they shared their last names.
The two of them then served in UCC churches in Iowa and Minnesota. Their longest such service was in the small northeastern Minnesota town of Biwabik at Community Church-Christ,, 1988-2004. Jim fondly remembers her sermon, “How Do You Want To Be Remembered?” and her love for the hymns “Amazing Grace,” “How Great Thou Art” and “Be Still My Soul.”
Susan also delightfully and diligently helped to renovate the church building in that town and later their Wisconsin lake cabin. She especially enjoyed spending time at that cabin, reading, baking and gardening.
During the last years of her life, Susan suffered from dementia, but died peacefully in her sleep. Memorial contributions in her memory may be made to the Minnesota-North Dakota Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Susan is survived by her husband Jim; sons Jeff Faunce (Amy McClellan) and David Faunce (Renae); step-children James Zimmerman, Jr., Kelly Zimmerman, Shane Zimmerman (Keri) and Eric Zimmerman (Angie); numerous grandchildren; and brother Paul Hass (Grinnell ’59) (Jackie) and their family.
Duane W. Krohnke
