June 4, 1936-June 10, 2025

Susan Salkover Bergman, a beloved mother and educator, passionate lover of art, music, books, and theater and a longtime Kansas City resident, died peacefully in her home with her children at her bedside on June 10, 2025, six days after celebrating her 89^th birthday.

She loved opera, dance, classical music, and Broadway shows, regularly attending concerts, plays, musicals and operas in Kansas City and New York, often sharing those experiences with her family. A former first grade teacher, she was one of the first in Kansas City to teach for Head Start.

Beyond supporting Kansas City’s performing arts, she was also an avid Chiefs fan; she and her family regularly attended games during the lean years in the 1970s, sitting in stadium bags in freezing Arrowhead while cheering on the team. 

Susan had a glowing personality. She was quick with a smile, a kind word, and a genuine compliment for everyone who crossed her path.  She was stylish and had a passion for fashion, never leaving the house without making sure she looked her absolute best.

Susan was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on June 4, 1936, and lived there with her parents, Nicholas Mann Salkover and Sylvia Baron Salkover, and her brother William B. Salkover.  An accomplished ballerina in high school, Susan was considered worthy of pursuing a professional career in dance.  When her parents decided she should instead head to college, she attended the University of Michigan where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English and met the love of her life, Max Harry Bergman.  They were married in Chicago on June 3, 1960.

In 1963, shortly after moving from the Plaza to a house they built in Overland Park, Kansas, Susan gave birth to a son, Stephen Andrew Bergman. In 1965, Susan and Max welcomed a baby girl, Elizabeth Anne (Betsy) Bergman. The family loved taking summer vacations on Cape Cod, where they would swim in the ocean at Newcomb Hollow Beach, run up the dunes, and play in nearby Gull Pond.  The family would stay at the Holiday House every summer and dine on blueberries for breakfast and lobster for dinner.  These were among Susan’s favorite memories.

Susan and Max were active in the local Johnson County Democratic Party, a considerably smaller entity in the 1960s than it later would become.  They also participated in discussions through Face to Face, an organization that brought together black people and white people to discuss racial issues during that turbulent time. 

Susan did a considerable amount of volunteer work through the Temple B’nai Jehudah Sisterhood and as a member of Entertainmobile, a group of women who performed in a traveling variety show that went to nursing facilities and sang songs to the delight of elderly residents. Her children loved hearing their mother sing “If You Knew Susie (Like I Know Susie),” ‘Second Hand Rose,” and “Yes, We Have No Bananas” as the residents smiled and sang along.

A devoted mother, Susan instilled in her children a love of books and records, which she always referred to as “treasures.” She regularly took Stephen and Betsy to the Johnson County Public Library, where they would leave with stacks of books. She also took them to The Tune Shop in Prairie Village, where they could pick out singles, listen to them in the booth, and take them home.

In later life, Susan celebrated the weddings of Stephen and his wife Joan Susie and Betsy and her husband Phil Gallo. There was never a happier mother-in-law than Susan when she gushed about Phil and Joan. In 1995, Susan delighted in the birth of her granddaughter Emma Susie Bergman. For Susan, Emma always hung the moon and stars. She also adored her “bonus” granddaughters Monica and Laura Gallo.

Susan was pre-deceased by Max Bergman and her brother William B. Salkover.  She is survived by her children, granddaughter and bonus granddaughters.  She is also survived by nieces and nephews Ellen Fabes, Brian Fabes, Cathy Fabes, Ken Salkover, Wendy Salkover, and David Salkover.