Susan Elizabeth Ghoreyeb, 61, passed away peacefully on Oct. 27 at Mid Coast Hospital.
She was born to Albert and Silvia Ghoreyeb on Aug. 27, 1953 in Huntington, N.Y.
Susan attended Northport High School in Northport, N.Y. and Drew University in Madison, N.J. She then went on to study Art History at Boston University.
She moved to Maine in the late 1970s and worked in the medical field. Most residents will remember seeing her smiling face and hearing her cheerful voice greet them at Wiscasset Family Medicine for more than two decades in the front office. She also worked at On-Board Fabric in Edgecomb for several years.
Susan was a talented seamstress and made intricate doll costumes that she sold all over the country online. She enjoyed anything and everything small or miniature, or what she called “Suzie size.” She had a special affection for her beloved dogs: BJ, Brooke, Bixby, Byron (all Black Labradors and Beagles) and her last adopted spin-tail, B’ruby (the ‘B’ was silent), a Jack Russell.
As a child, Susan designed sets and sewed costumes for her dolls, but it was her work in theatre as an adult that she was best known and remembered for within the community. She started out as a stage manager, costumer and props master for various theaters within the Mid Coast area before becoming an active board member for the Mid Coast Children’s Theater at the Waldo Theatre in Waldoboro, and the Lincoln County Community Theater in Damariscotta, where she also served as president for a period of time. Susan also costumed many productions for Heartwood Regional Theater Company in Newcastle.
When Susan directed her first show “The Secret Garden” for LCCT, she quickly became known and respected as a theater director in her own right. From that moment, she went on to produce and direct dozens of musicals including, “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” “West Side Story,” “Into The Woods,” “Company,” and “The Full Monty,” among countless others.
She founded the Winter Drama Adventure that gave local children the opportunity to act in a musical or play. Susan never turned any child away from a production. If they came to an audition and wanted to be in a production, she cast them. She costumed hundreds of productions and thousands of actors on stages and in theaters across Maine and beyond.
The children that she encountered and impacted are now on Broadway, professional actors in Hollywood, directing in their own theaters, and costuming professional shows. Her love of children and her desire to spotlight them and give them the opportunity to shine on stage was her number one goal in life.
She is survived by her sister, Debora Ghoreyeb of Sante Fe, N.M.; and brother, Albert and sister-in-law Lynette Ghoreyeb of Brunswick.
There will be a celebration of life at 1 p.m., Sat., Nov. 8 at the Second Congregational Church in Newcastle. The family has requested that those attending wear an article of clothing, full costume or accompanying prop associated with a particular production that Susan costumed or directed to brighten the service with her love and light.
