Susan M. Ribis

Rochester: Susan is predeceased by her parents, Joan and Edward, her sister Sheila Caufield and stepfather Eugene Pierleoni. She is survived by her loving husband Timothy, siblings Tim (Gina) Caufield, Sharon (Eric) Schmidtmann, Patrick (Elaine) Caufield, Steven (Debbie) Caufield, stepsiblings Vince (Stephanie) Pierleoni, Mark (Diane Geiger) Pierleoni, nieces and nephews Ryan (Patti) Caufield, Jenna (Rob) Lagnese, Evan Caufield, Erin (Jon) Purington, Eric “Dude” Schmidtmann, Meaghan (Patrick) Davis, Kaitlin (Shaun) Cimini, Kellie Caufield, Stefany (Joe) Coon, Sheila Caufield, Shannon Caufield, great nephews and nieces Justin Lagnese, Calvin, Jasper, and Wesley Purington, Camille Davis, Annabel, Archer and Saige Coon, and many cousins and good friends. Susan is also survived by her extended family, step children Dawn Lockwood, Timothy (Nicole) Ribis II, brothers in law Daniel (Donna Pickard) Ribis, Matthew Ribis, Jack Lalonde, and several nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and cousins. 

Susan Marie Caufield was born on December 13, 1954 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, New York to Edward and Joan Caufield. Her parents brought their first born baby home to their residence on Paul Road. When Sue was a toddler, the family moved to Earl Street where both sets of grandparents also resided. A few years after that, the family moved across Genesee Street to Elmdorf Avenue. Sue received the sacraments of baptism, first confession, first holy communion and confirmation at Saint Monica Roman Catholic Church. Her godparents were her aunt, Beverly Schlageter, and uncle, Danny Caufield. Her confirmation sponsor was her aunt, Patricia Quigley. Sue also attended Saint Monica elementary school from first through eighth grade.

In 1968, the family relocated to Tanglewood Drive in Greece where she attended Cardinal Mooney High School (Class of 1972). In her junior year she was fortunate enough to visit Spain and Portugal with her Spanish class. She enjoyed herself so much that three years later she went back again with childhood friend Barb Heim, and they had the time of their lives. The family’s new next-door neighbors in Greece were the Barry family who owned Johnny’s restaurant on Dewey Avenue. Sue’s mom Joan was a waitress at the restaurant and Sue was a weekend cashier there as well. She didn’t know it at the time, but that part-time job had changed her life forever because that is where she met her future husband and lifetime companion Tim. Sadly, in 1974 Sue‘s parents divorced and the family was on the move once again, but Sue and Tim maintained a lifelong friendship with both Pat and Sue Barry. When her parents went their separate ways, the three youngest siblings moved in with their mom and Sue and her brother Tim moved in with her dad on Conrad Drive where she has lived ever since. 

After graduating from Cardinal Mooney, Sue enrolled in the medical technology program at RIT but after spending two years there decided that it wasn’t the right path for her. In September 1974, she accepted a position as a receptionist for Dr. Ravendra Sharma at the suggestion of her aunt Bev Schlageter who was the office manager. In 1981, Dr. Sharma and his partner Dr. Tarun Kothari formed Rochester Gastroenterology Associates where Sue maintained employment through the years, finishing out a 48 year career in 2022. 

On May 20, 1975 Tim and Sue went on their first date to a quirky little bar called The Cave at Stone Ridge Plaza that resembled Fred Flintstone‘s house, followed by a walk on the Charlotte Pier. From that moment on, they became inseparable. Early on in the relationship, they enjoyed camping, fishing, and hunting together.  Many weekends were spent at Hamlin Beach State Park or in the Adirondacks sleeping on a single mattress in the back of Tim’s old black ’67 Chevy van. In 1977 they purchased a used 16 foot fishing boat they named “Putt Putt”…but it should have been named “Jinxed”. Rare were the times they took the boat out without some sort of catastrophe. One of Sue’s favorite stories was when they were driving home on 390 N from Honeoye Lake after fishing with her mom and Gene. They pulled alongside Sue and Tim and shouted to pull off to the side of the road. The trailer hitch had become disconnected from the van, and the boat was doing a half wheelie behind the van – hanging on only by the safety chains. Thankfully, despite all the calamity, they usually managed to catch fish. 

Many hours were spent in the company of friends Chuck and Rosey Shannon. During hunting and fishing season, their home in Kendall served as a base camp where the gang gathered before setting out for the days‘ activities, and would meet up afterwards to show off the daily catch or discuss strategy for how they could do better tomorrow. Sue and Tim were welcomed into their family and were fortunate enough to be included in many family gatherings and celebrations. Sue and Tim were very grateful to have had an enduring friendship of more than 50 years with the Shannon family.

Through mutual friends, Tim and Sue were introduced to an elderly couple Frank and Grace Otery from Sellersville Pennsylvania who had something in common with them: they were also raising an orphaned raccoon. Over the next several years they made many trips back-and-forth to visit and became very good friends. Pets played a large part in Sue and Tim’s lives. During their time together they raised four dogs, sixteen cats, two rabbits, two raccoons, five ferrets, several mice, chipmunks, hamsters, turtles, parakeets, many tropical fish, and a piranha named Jack the Ripper. 

Tim had brought up the topic of marriage several times over the years, but Sue always seemed to be reluctant, figuring “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Finally after six years of asking, he told her he would ask one last time and if she said no, he would drop the issue. Much to his surprise, she said yes! They were married on Wednesday May 20, 1981, the sixth anniversary of their first date. The ceremony took place at Messiah Lutheran Church on Mount Read Boulevard and their reception was held at Gigi‘s Italian restaurant on West Ridge Road. The festivities were attended by family and a few close friends. After living together for six years, the bride decided it was appropriate for her to wear black.

Sue and Tim enjoyed traveling and took their first trip out West to Wyoming to visit family and were hooked on the rustic beauty of the Rockies. Sue’s dad Ed joined them for a total of five memorable trips hunting, sightseeing and visiting with their cousin and her family. In 1990, Sue, Tim, Ed, and Sharon, Eric and the kids took a trip to the Maine coast for the first time. This became another favorite spot that Sue and Tim visited numerous times over the years. Lighthouses became a favorite destination while visiting the coastline as well as enjoying the fabulous cuisine. The two also visited several beaches along the Atlantic coast on subsequent vacations. 

Sue and Tim were avid Trekkies. They attended several Star Trek conventions where they had the opportunity to meet the actors who played their favorite characters. One of their favorite pastimes was watching late night reruns of Star Trek along with Sue’s cousin Mark Schlageter, who lived with them for a few years. Between the three of them, they could recite every line from the original Star Trek series. Sue and Tim were also fans of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Jason Bourne, James Bond, and Sue‘s most favorite character, Jessica Fletcher from Murder She Wrote.  

Sue was a self-taught photographer. Long before the days of cell phone cameras, she documented all of the important family events from births to baptisms to dance recitals to weddings and everything in between. Tim was alongside her with his state-of-the-art camcorder and between the two of them, they captured a lifetime of memories for their family. They also documented all of the trips that they took together. Sue frequently joked that if anyone was suffering from insomnia, just give her a call and she’ll loan them some photos and a video and they’ll be asleep in 10 seconds flat. 

While working at RGA, Sue forged a friendship with one of her coworkers Karen Hobson and her husband, Gary. They quickly became part of their extended family. Over the years, they were on several bowling leagues together, celebrated birthdays and holidays, and took several road trips together. Sue and Tim never turned down an opportunity to taste test one of Karen‘s new recipes – a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it! More recently, since Sue’s battle with cancer they have both showered her with much appreciated emotional and spiritual support. Their friendship has truly been a blessing.

Sue and Tim became familiar with the world of elder care when her aunt Bev needed assistance to be able to remain in her home as long as possible. They would go over several times a week to help with shopping, housework, laundry, showering, and other various duties. Soon after that, Sue’s mom had to be placed in a nursing home so every evening Sue and Tim would go to the nursing home and help feed Mom her dinner. This continued right up until the Covid shutdown. 

The closeness of family became more and more important to Sue as she got older. She took great pride in telling friends and acquaintances that her family celebrated every single birthday throughout the year in a series of joint birthday parties, and the family also got together for dinner every Easter Saturday night. They also all got together every Christmas Eve to share a meal and to get caught up on all the latest family news as well as exchange gifts. As the family grew older and new generations were born, the gatherings changed a bit but the family remained close, and Sue stayed central to all, taking photos to ensure everyone remembered the good times.

After two previous bouts of cancer, Sue was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April 2025. She bravely fought the disease until she passed away on March 3, surrounded by family and friends. In her last days, she took the time to write out this remembrance herself, highlighting the moments in her life that she cherished most.

Her Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Wednesday (March 11th) 10:00 AM at St. Charles Borromeo Church. If attending the service, please join us in wearing pink to honor Sue’s favorite color. Interment will follow mass at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in her memory.