Susan Bubna

Susan Clark Costabile Bubna, a registered nurse, drama teacher, and Bible study leader who grew up spending summers in Montauk, died on March 22 at St. Luke’s Hospice House in Kansas City, Mo., after battling breast cancer for 30 years. She was 61.

Ms. Bubna, known as Susie, was born in the Bronx on June 9, 1956, to Douglas Costabile and Doris Bingham. After spending her childhood in Murray Hill, N.J., she attended Brown University, where she majored in medieval Renaissance history. Three years later, she received a nursing degree from Rhode Island College. 

She began her professional career at Overlook Hospital in Summit, N.J. It was while attending church in Summit that she met Stephen Bubna, the man she would marry on Dec. 26, 1981.

In 1992, the couple moved to Colony, Kan., to lead the Colony Community Church, where her husband served as pastor. After raising three daughters, she returned to work, taking care of patients as a floor nurse and a diabetes educator at Olathe Medical Center. She also earned a Master of Arts in theater from the University of Kansas in 2013. 

Ms. Bubna had a passion for working with the youth in her community. For 20 years, she headed up a Good News Club Bible study group for elementary students. She served as a drama coach at Crest High School, and directed theater for young adults as a member of the Chamber Players Community Theatre in Garnett, Kan. She also frequently opened her home to exchange students. 

Ms. Bubna loved the outdoors, “especially in Montauk,” her family wrote. In her younger years she enjoyed skiing and sailing. Later in life, she was an avid traveler and biker. She also wrote poetry and liked to tend to her chickens and rabbits.  

Visiting hours for the family were held at Colony Community Church on March 28. A funeral service was held in the gymnasium at Crest High School the following day, and Ms. Dubna was buried at Colony Cemetery. 

Her brothers-in-law, Timothy Bubna and Joel Bubna, officiated at her service.