Bernadette Bouthot Surran

The family of Bernadette Bouthot Surran of Westwood, New Jersey is sad to announce that she passed away on Thursday evening, April 16, at CareOne at Valley Nursing Facility in Westwood, New Jersey from a debilitating illness.

Born Bernadette Frances Bouthot on December 30, 1949, to Albert and Frances Bouthot of Cedar Grove, NJ, Bernadette grew up in Cedar Grove’s Ridgewood Acres neighborhood with her three “baby boomer” siblings. She attended St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School and graduated from Cedar Grove Memorial High School in 1967. During her high school years, she excelled in art, was inducted into the National Honor Society, and enjoyed being a cheerleader and doing cartwheels as the school’s Panther mascot.

Bernadette entered Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) in southern New Jersey in the fall of 1967 as an Art major. While there, she met and began dating fellow art student and photographer, Jack Surran. Bernadette and Jack graduated together with BA degrees in Art Education from Glassboro State in May 1971 and were married the following year.

Shortly after receiving her degree, the Allendale Board of Education in northern New Jersey offered her a position in their elementary school. Bernadette taught art to hundreds of Allendale students every week for more than 30 years. In the early years, with no art room to call her own, she traveled from class to class with her trusty “art cart” before eventually getting a dedicated art room. She was also responsible for curating and designing displays of her students’ artwork for the school’s much anticipated annual Art Show. For many years after retiring in 2005, she’d meet her former Allendale co-workers and retired teacher friends for monthly lunch get-togethers.

Like her mom, Bernadette had a deep faith, attended Mass every Sunday, avoided confrontation, and loved to sing and dance. She took ballet lessons as a little girl, and though she was quiet by nature, she enjoyed being on stage, danced in recitals and school shows, and as an adult, danced whenever the music moved her.

Like her dad, Bernadette loved animals. The family’s first dog, Beeza, was adopted before Jonathan was born, and their second, a black lab named Shadow, joined the family when Jonathan was a child. Jack and Bernadette even adopted and gave good homes to stray cats who found their way onto their deck.

Bernadette also loved her home, often preferring to be there reading, watching movies, listening to music, working with her hands, and being with friends. Jack’s paintings and photographs, family pictures, and her father-in-law’s handmade Shaker clock, furniture, and miniature Shaker dollhouse occupy places of honor in her cozy, creative, art-filled home.

When son Jonathan was born in 1977, he quickly became the center of his parents’ lives. Bernadette and Jack applauded his early academic success, encouraged him to play sports, and cheered at his Westwood High School football games and track and field meets. When he played football at Bucknell University, they drove to Lewisburg, PA many weekends to cheer for his college team. As “empty nesters” after Jonathan graduated, married, and began a career in Manhattan, Bernadette and Jack often met him in the city for dinner and a Broadway show, and later visited him and his family in Norwalk, CT, where they have lived since 2012.

Closer than ever as a couple, Bernadette and Jack bought bikes and went riding together, tended their yard and gardens, and began to travel. They enjoyed wine tastings in northern California, sampling food and wine in Italy, road tripping through France, and visiting the Irish town where one of Bernadette’s favorite movies, “The Quiet Man,” was filmed. From the thousands of photos Jack took during each trip, they selected one favorite for their annual Christmas card.

Most recently, Bernadette enjoyed her newest role as Grandma, drawing, coloring, having tea parties, and playing games with her two young granddaughters, Emmie and Sadie.

Bernadette was much loved and will be missed by her son Jonathan, his wife Molly, and their two little girls—Emmie, turning six on Monday (named after Jack’s mom), and Sadie, 3—of Norwalk, CT. She will be remembered with love by the following family members: sister Rosemary (Bouthot) Riesett Limmen and her husband Jan Limmen of Tenants Harbor, Maine; brother Richard Edward Bouthot (deceased) of Cedar Grove, NJ; sister Kathryn Bouthot McVey and her husband Kevin McVey, also of Cedar Grove; niece Christine Riesett Jackson, her husband Matt Jackson, and their children Nicholas and Lexi of Ellicott City, MD; nephew and godson Scott Riesett, his wife Mary, and their children Olivia and Zachary of Maplewood, NJ; nephew Peter Riesett, his wife Carey and their son Gavin of Brooklyn, NY, niece Meghan McVey Iungerich, her husband Jay Iungerich, and their sons Sullivan, Trevor, Everett, and Denver of Prince Frederick, MD; cousins Steve Rooney and Roseanne Rooney O’Neill of Long Island, NY; cousin Theresa Rooney Rhodes of Annapolis, MD; and their spouses, children, and grandchildren.

Final arrangements are being made through Becker Funeral Home, 219 Kinderkamack Road in Westwood. The family will be receiving family and friends at Becker Funeral Home on Wednesday, April 22, from 4:00–8:00 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial is being offered at St. Andrew Roman Catholic Church, 120 Washington Avenue, on Thursday, April 23, at 10:30 am, with interment to follow at Westwood Cemetery. The family gratefully accepts flowers or donations in memory of Bernadette Surran to the Superficial Siderosis Research Alliance (SSRA) at ssra.livingwithss.com.