Former island resident Susan K. Kresge, 62, died June 11 in Paris, France.

She was born Oct. 17, 1943, in Olympia. Her father worked for the State Department and helped rebuild war-torn Europe under the Marshall Plan.

Between 1952 and 1959, she lived in Paris and attended French schools and the American Community School in Autueil. She was raised in the Episcopal Church and attended the American Pro-Cathedral in Paris where, as a child, she sang in the choir. An interest in the arts rooted when her parents took her to museums and galleries and exposed her to European culture.

When her family moved to Washington, D.C., she attended Maret School, studying French, and Elmira College, in Elmira, N.Y., where she was French Club president. She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology at George Washington University and a master’s degree in human resources at Southern Illinois University.

In her ‘20s, Kresge guided young adults on tours to France for Experiments in International Living. Later she worked for national and international non-profit organizations: in Chicago (World University Service), N.Y. (Church World Service), and Washington, D.C.

In the 1980s and 1990s, she helped develop Seattle’s Lutheran Compass Center, an 80-room homeless residence in Pioneer Square. She challenged 80 western Washington Lutheran communities to a contest — to each furnish and decorate a room. She was active in a Pioneer Square planning committee and other city affairs.

Following a severe health crisis in 2000, she decided to return to Paris, the city of her dreams and inspiration. She enjoyed taking friends on tours, and treasured music in magnificent cathedrals.

She enjoyed singing and each year joined Bainbridge Island’s “Sing Out!” Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Choir. When the choir traveled to Paris earlier this year, she assisted as guide and arranged a special performance at the American Church where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Peter Kresge, who worked for the Agency for International Development in Kathmandu, Nepal. She is survived by her mother and father, Pat Riley-Kresge and Howard Kresge, and her brother, John Kresge, all of San Mateo, Calif.; a sister, Mari Alexander of Takoma Park, Md.; aunts, Libby Kresky of Bainbridge Island, and Dorthea Augusztiny of Friday Harbor; and nephews: Billy Suddath of Atlanta, Ga., Julian and Gabriel Alexander of Takoma Park, Md.

Remembrances can be made to Compass Center, 77 S. Washington Street, Seattle, WA, 98104; the Total Experience Gospel Choir, P. O. Box 22776, Seattle, WA 98122; or charities of choice.