Susan Scheinman Leonard

Gideon was the bookends on my time at Oberlin, From opening day of Freshman orientation to graduation, with alphabetical seating, we sat next to each other: Schein and Scheinman. In the four years in between, we went to France together and shared moments. We sat in Finney Chapel and listened to Rostropovich play. We talked and walked and forged a deep friendship. I lost track of him for a while. I got married and moved one way and he moved another. And then one day I got a call from his mother. She was helping him with an Oberlin fundraiser at the New York Public Library. And we reconnected.

From then on, in some ways, our lives intertwined . We celebrated birthdays together every year, as his was the day before mine. My 50^th birthday was a huge party celebrated in his apartment. He was with me from beginning to end of the party I threw for myself to celebrate 70. We went to concerts. We ate well. We shared emotional pain and highs. We supported each other through thick and thin. Divorces-his, breakdowns-mine, illness-his. I connected him with a friend, a cardiologist, who became so important in his life for many years.  I spoke with him last week, after he came home from the hospital, and before he returned for the last time. It seemed he would beat the odds yet again. But it was not to be. My rational mind accepted the inevitable on Monday and Tuesday. Every day since then has been harder to bear. He could be infuriating. Seemed to know everything. Had all the answers. He knew and I knew it wasn’t so. But he was so smart, so well read, so educated, in all ways. My life is emptier right now. But so much fuller for having him in it.

Sleep well my dear friend. You deserve it.

What a sad notice to wake up to. So many laughs and good times. He expressed so many of my insecurities and helped me grow up. Dearly missed.

Posted on: Jun 15, 2019 at 4:34 AM

Posted on: Jun 15, 2018 at 4:33 AM

I dated Scott Freshman year. He was way to sensual for me at that stage of my life, and I was attracted and frightened. He was very sensitive and poetic.

Rick sat at my dinner table in Dascomb. We were chastized by the Dorm mother for laughing too much. The other diners would be jealous. We all knew Rick hustled pool and worried on those nights when he went out. His father was some big General or something at Fort Ord. 

Posted on: Jun 15, 2017 at 4:33 AM

Posted on: May 13, 2016 at 9:17 AM

Good to see your name here. Remembering our table at Dascomb Freshman year. We laughed so much. Susan Scheinman Leonard