Susan St. Clair, of Mission Hill, passed away on May 4, 2025. Susan is survived by her loving husband, John LaRuffa, her three children, Virginia Halsey, of San Francisco, James Halsey of West Roxbury, and Eric Braun (the Amazing One) of Miami; also, her loving grandchildren, James, Ryan, Kevin, and Karah Halsey, and Madeline O’Donnell; and her adoring great-grandchildren: Kailey, Aidan,  Kevin, Connor, Amelia, James, Cory, Cameran, Madison, Catherine, and Elinor. Susan is also survived by her five siblings: Peter, Jim, Rosemary, Paul, and John. Susan was devoted and dedicated to her family, coming to anyone’s aid in all manner of family situations.

Susan was a strong woman in so many ways. She was an LPN at Boston City Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital. She had a long career as a Letter Carrier for the US Postal Service, retiring in 2004. For 16 of her 24 years as a Letter Carrier, she performed that job after having been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Susan was a tenacious fighter for the Mission Hill Community that she loved.  She was a community organizer and a community builder.  Susan worked with the Mission Hill Planning Commission and Mission Hill Health Movement.  With her neighbors she fought Harvard, Affiliated Hospitals and the MATEP Power Plant. When the new threat to the Mission Hill Community was the expansion of Northeastern and Wentworth students into the residential triple-deckers on the Hill, she was a founding and perhaps loudest member of the Mission Hill Problem Properties Task Force.  She was fierce and brought many an institution and elected official to their knees.  But Susan was also a community builder and was one of the few leaders able to successfully shift from fighting against to fighting for. She was an active participant in the planning process for One Brigham Circle and an advocate for the creation of our commercial center and grocery store. She attended many a planning workshop for the reclaimed vacant land on Wensley, and Fisher, and Lawn and Heath Streets. She became a task force leader in the planning for a new gateway to the neighborhood in Roxbury Crossing and served first as a member of the Roxbury Crossing Senior Building Planning Review Committee and then on the Mission Hill NHS Board. And no one enjoyed a Mission Hill Road Race more (where she proudly claimed she should win the Pudding Pot for the most children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren running in the race) and at every event she would say “This is Mission Hill” with a huge and sincere smile. She never gave up the fight decade after decade. Mission Hill will sorely miss our community champion. 

Visiting hours will be on FRIDAY, May 9th at Mann Rodgers Funeral Home, 44 Perkins Street, Jamaica Plain from 2pm - 6 o'clock.  Family and friends are invited.

Interment is private.