Roberta Kernis Sutker

Roberta Kernis Sutker, 88, of Shannondell, Audubon, PA, died on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 at her home.  Born in Philadelphia on December 24, 1935, she is survived by Burton Sutker, her husband of 68 blessed years, and her children Stuart and Irene Sutker of Wayne, PA; Brad and Megan Sutker of Bangor, Maine; and Sharone Sutker of Albuquerque, NM; and her grandchildren: Sara and Dan Spieler, Joshua Sutker, Jason and Pranathi Sutker, Michael and Samantha Brown, Kristen and Mary Donovan, and Pam and Mike Bunnion and Jonathan Sutker; as well as six great-grandchildren and her sister, Elynor Sass of Lafayette Hill, PA.

Roberta was a geriatric social worker, caring for the elderly while working for several Jewish philanthropic agencies.  She was a president of the Middlesex (NJ) Office for the Aging, a founding member of Middlesex County (NJ) Jewish Family Services, a president of the Jewish Social Workers of New Jersey, a founder of the 1998 Book Club, as well as a board member of Greenwood House Senior Health Care and of several other organizations.   

For over 15 years, she was a field placement liaison for students at Rutgers University School of Social Work.                  

She was a member of the Class of 1957 at the University of Pennsylvania and earned her master’s degree in social work with a specialty in geriatric social work from Rutgers University in 1980.

Roberta cared deeply about the State of Israel and traveled there over 25 times with her husband as well as with some of her grandchildren.  She also led group visits to Israel under the auspices of MetroWest Jewish Federation.  She volunteered with the IDF during two intifadas and made many friends in Israel.

Burt and Roberta traveled together to many countries all over the world, visiting museums and World Heritage Sites, attending concerts, and adding beautiful art works to their collection.  They attended the Metropolitan Opera for 39 years with their dear friends the late Joyce and Saul Horwitz, and enjoyed many theatrical events and concerts in New York City.  In 2005, with Barbara Spack, the Sutkers co-hosted a Voices for Israel concert (https://www.voicesforisrael.org/about.html ) which drew an attendance of 1000 in support of the Jewish State.

They lived for 39 years in Edison, NJ, moving to Pennington, NJ, in 2005.  In 2023 they moved to Shannondell in Audubon, PA.  Wherever she lived, Roberta enjoyed hiking and playing bridge.

Donations in Roberta's memory may be made to Beiteinu Synagogue (https://www.beiteinu.org/), Greenwood House Senior Health Care (https://www.greenwoodhouse.org), the Children's Home Society of NJ (https://chsofnj.org), or a Jewish Federation of your choice.