Published 4:41 pm Monday, August 19, 2024 By The Daily News Ruth (Susie) Amelia Gilfillan passed away peacefully at home on August 14 after a long, beautiful, and joyful life. Ruth graduated from Union High School in New Jersey in 1956 where she was captain of the cheerleaders and named Best Athlete. She lived in San Francisco for three years after graduation and supported herself as an executive secretary.
Her prom date, J. Albert Wunder, tracked her down after his military service and they eloped in San Francisco in 1966. They traveled back to New Jersey, bought a lake house on Lake Hopatcong, where they raised their two children, Wendy and John Wunder.
Ruth stepped down from her executive secretary position at Sandoz to become the world’s best mom, volunteering for everything from room mother to brownie leader to softball coach and more. After taking care of her own mother, she went back to work at Warner Lambert/ Pfizer Legal Department to assist in coordinating their board meetings and usher pharmaceuticals through the FDA regulatory process. She married William Gilfillan in 1991 and became the world’s best step-mom to Sam Gilfillan and Molly Opferman.
She and Bill set up another homestead on the lake where they “lived off the land,” often fishing and gardening and camping in their RV. Ruth was a professional-grade seamstress and could sew anything at all, which means her grandchildren always had the best Halloween costumes. She also became an avid quilter after .