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Remembering Susan ChuncoA Life of Compassion, Activism, and Solidarity By Susan Lamont 
Photo by Susan Lamont One of the pleasures of aging is that one has time to make many dear friends and, if one is an activist, comrades. One of the sorrows of aging is losing them one by one. Three-and-a-half years ago, we lost Kathleen Finigan. Less than a year ago, our activist community lost Alice Waco. And this year, in February, we lost Susan Chunco. They were all extraordinary activists, but they were also close friends who gathered often. Nothing is the same without them. Susan could not remember a time when she did not care deeply about people and animals. Growing up on a farm and seeing animals she knew end up on the dinner table helped shape her lifelong vegetarianism and compassion for all living beings. As a young teenager in rural upstate New York, Susan volunteered in a daycare program for the children of migrant farm workers. Though she did not yet fully understand the justice issues surrounding migrant labor, the experience planted seeds that would grow into a lifetime of activism and service. After high school, she worked as a nurse’s aide caring for women and children, beginning a lifelong commitment to helping others directly. Like so many activists of her generation, the movements of the 1960s — anti-war, civil rights, feminism, and environmental justice — profoundly shaped her worldview. Susan later became deeply involved in the Green Party of Sonoma County and inspired many others to become active themselves through her enthusiasm, persistence, and belief that ordinary people could create meaningful change. In recent years, Susan became especially known for her advocacy alongside Sonoma County’s unhoused community. Her work at Camp Michela — an encampment created in response to the growing homelessness crisis — transformed her into a fierce advocate for dignity, services, and human-centered solutions. Working directly with unhoused people taught Susan that homelessness is complex and deeply tied to failures in mental health care, addiction treatment, affordable housing, and economic justice. She believed strongly that unhoused people themselves must be heard, respected, and empowered in shaping solutions. She also believed no elderly, disabled, or sick person should ever be forced to live on the streets in one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Her compassion was not abstract; it was personal, direct, and unwavering. Susan reminded those around her not to turn away from people experiencing homelessness. She challenged others to reject “Not In My Backyard” attitudes, to recognize how fragile economic security can be, and to understand homelessness as a human-created condition driven by systems that place profit over people. Through all of her activism, Susan remained deeply devoted to friendship, community, animals, and shared moments of joy. Those who knew her remember not only her advocacy, but also her warmth, humor, generosity, and fierce sense of solidarity. If there is a lasting memorial to Susan Chunco’s life, it may be found in continuing the work she cared about so deeply: standing with the vulnerable, listening to those too often ignored, and building a world rooted in compassion and justice.
Celebration of Life for Susan Chunco Published in the May 2026 edition of the Peace Press
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