Susan Dorothea Rautine, 88, of Erie, passed away peacefully on 29 June 2026. Born in Erie on 12 April 1938, she spent many years in Monterey, California, before returning home in 2024.
Susan was a graduate of McDowell High School and Bowling Green University and later earned Master’s degrees in English and Art History from Edinboro University. She worked in education, publishing, and community advocacy, working for the Erie Art Museum, Monterey County YWCA, SirsiDynix, CTB/McGraw-Hill, and Penn State Behrend, amongst many other institutions.
A dedicated volunteer, she served the United Nations Association Monterey Bay Chapter, the Naval Postgraduate School’s ESL Program, Monterey Peninsula College, and the Monterey Peninsula Quilt Guild. Her service earned multiple honors, including recognition from the Monterey County Commission on the Status of Women and the United Nations Association.
Susan enjoyed photography, quilting, writing, music, gardening, and hiking. Susan was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Nancy Rautine Fuhrer; her brothers, T. Bert Rautine, John “Jack” Rautine, and Gary Rautine; and by her husbands Gene Alan Barnes, George E. Pitluga, Stanley Jacobs, and Richard Charles Bainbridge.
She is survived by her children, Benton Charlie Bainbridge and Rachel Beth Bainbridge Steinberg; her son in law, Robert Andrew Steinberg; her grandson, Ezra Eban Bainbridge Powers; and many beloved nieces and nephews. All arrangements were handled by the Dusckas-Martin Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., 4216 Sterrettania Rd. Erie.
She will be laid to rest at Laurel Hill Cemetery with her parents, Dorothea Wilkins Rautine and Toivo Sulo Rautine. Memorial details will be announced.
Posted online on July 22, 2026
Published in Erie Times-News