Susane J. Zamitis, 65; taught nursing

Susane J. Zamitis, 65, of Oaklyn, a nursing instructor who taught for more than 40 years and wrote for education publications, died Sunday, June 20, at her home. She had been suffering from liver cancer.

Though she loved helping people, Mrs. Zamitis did not just want to be a nurse.

"Her passion was teaching," her son Robbert said.

Year after year, she trained students in the classroom and during clinical sessions to help improve the quality of nursing care, said a former colleague, Debra DeVoe of Cherry Hill.

"She was very dedicated to the nursing profession," DeVoe said. "She is someone I would look up to."

Mrs. Zamitis specialized in oncology, orthopedics, trauma, and neurology, her son said. In recent years she had enjoyed working with patients in hospice care.

Among those who tended to her during her illness were former students whom she had trained in oncology and end-of-life care, he said.

The Camden native, born Susane J. Berkowitz, graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1963 and went straight to nursing school. She married Robert Zamitis, from whom she later divorced.

Mrs. Zamitis graduated from Thomas Jefferson University's School of Nursing in 1963 and received a bachelor's degree in education from Temple University in 1968. She was an instructor at Thomas Jefferson University from 1968 to 1971 before going to Cooper Medical Center and teaching there for several years. She moved to Oaklyn in 1974.

In 1981, she landed a job at a smaller school, the Helene Fuld School of Nursing, and stayed there until her retirement this year. Mrs. Zamitis earned master's degrees in nursing and in education in the 1980s.

"She was very much a support for everyone," her son said. "She would always make an effort to check on former students."

Mrs. Zamitis also wrote and edited at least two books for nursing students, he said.

An animal lover, Mrs. Zamitis had volunteered at the aquarium in Camden, where she worked mostly with the sharks and stingrays, he said.

In addition to her son, Mrs. Zamitis is survived by longtime companion Alan Galespie.

Family will receive guests from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, June 26, at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 409 White Horse Pike, Oaklyn. A memorial service will follow at 11 a.m. at the church. Interment will be private.

The family asks that contributions be made to the Susane J. Zamitis Nursing Scholarship, c/o TD Bank, 1130 White Horse Pike, Oaklyn, N.J. 08107.