Cordelia (Suran) Jacobs

Cordelia Suran Jacobs, age 87, of Sewickley, PA, died unexpectedly on September 18, 2026. She was born on October 12, 1938 in Tarentum, PA. The younger daughter of Estella Helena and Frank Edward Suran, she was preceded in death by her husband Charles Edward Jacobs, Charlie, in 2021, her parents, and older sister, Marlene Suran Davis. 

Cordelia graduated from Beaver Falls High School where she was named  “Ideal Senior Girl”, affectionately got the nickname “Cookie”, and starred in many theater productions including Goldilocks’s Adventure. Continuing her interest in theater, she performed in plays in college and at the Chippewa Summer Theater. She attended Geneva College before transferring to Chatham College, now Chatham University, in her junior year. She graduated with a BA in English and went on to accept a position as an Admissions Officer for Chatham.

In 1962 she married Charlie and together they had three children; Laura, Peter, and Brian. Native Pittsburghites, they lived in suburbs including Shady Side, Mt. Lebanon, and Ben Avon Heights, before making their home in Sewickley. Married almost 60 years, they enjoyed travel, bridge, and hosting family and friends at their secondary homes on Lake Winnipesaukee, NH and Naples/Bonita Springs, FL.

Cordelia was a committed volunteer serving as the President of the Junior League of Pittsburgh, Sewickley Music Club, Village Garden Club, Sewickley Civic Garden Council, and Pittsburgh Chapter of Meeting Planners International. For over 25 years, she served on the Board of Trustees at Chatham University, her alma mater. Among her many notable awards, she received the following: Chatham’s Alumnae Service, William Trimble Beatty, the1981 Meeting Planner of the Year, and the 2014 Garden Club of America Merit Award. She was named trustee emeritus by the boards of Chatham University, Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, and the YWCA. 

With a love for music, she sang with the Robert Page Festival Singers performing in Russia, Estonia, Czech Republic, Poland, and Finland. Since their move to Sewickley in 1976, she was a committed member of the Sewickley Presbyterian Church singing in the choir and serving as an elder and on the Worship and Music Council. 

An avid history buff and Pittsburgh history authority, she became a partner in Creative Convention Services which planned events for visitors to Pittsburgh including the Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen riverboats embarkations/departure, US Open Oakmont events, and off season tours to Washington, DC, Asheville, NC, Virginia Garden Tours, Newport cottages, and even Pittsburgh Insomniac Tours. 

Cordelia is survived by her three children: Laura Jacobs Smith, Charlottesville, VA, Peter Suran Jacobs, Mercer Island, WA, and Brian Charles Jacobs, Ambridge, PA, seven grandchildren: Charlie Reed Smith (Anna), Charlottesville, VA, Andrew Walker Smith (Anna), Watkinsville, GA, Reese Charles Jacobs (Gabrielle), Martinsburg, WV, Catherine Grace Smith, Charlottesville, VA, Anna Estella Jacobs, Mercer Island, WA, Elizabeth Cordelia Jacobs, St. Louis, MO, and Claire Helena Jacobs, Mercer Island, WA, and four great grandchildren: Campbell, Mary Scott, Frances, and Merritt. 

A Memorial Service will be held at the Sewickley Presbyterian Church on Saturday, October 10 at 11 AM with a reception to follow in the Robinson Room at the church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sewickley Presbyterian Church Music Ministry, the Cordelia Suran Jacobs Endowed Scholarship at Chatham University, or a charity of one’s choosing. Arrangement entrusted to R.D. Copeland Funeral Home, Irvine Chapel, Sewickley.