The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 38, No. 4
18
The Lost Surveyor
Pat Gaylord, PLS
THE LOST SURVEYOR
T
his installment of the “Lost Surveyor” is about a
member we recently lost. PLSO and the state of
Oregon lost a true professional who dedicated
thousands of hours to our profession when Susan E.
Newstetter, PLS 2405 unexpectedly passed away at the age
of 60. At the PLSO conference last January we shared a
laugh about my sons, talked about good food and outdoor
cooking, and parted ways thinking her illness was mostly
behind her and life was in front of her. Unfortunately
Sue passed away May 1, 2015 due to complications that
developed.
Sue was one of the most dedicated professionals I have
ever had the privilege to know. It was truly an honor to
serve on many of PLSO’s Boards and Committees with her
as well as numerous years on the Oregon Institute of
Technology Industrial Advisory Committee for Geomatics.
Her efforts and absence will be felt for many years through
out PLSO and the State of Oregon.
Susan Elizabeth Newstetter was born July 21, 1954 to
Robert Leon (Bud) and Bonnie Jean (Jean) Newstetter in
Van Nuys, California. She was a good student and had a
love for the mountains of the Sierra Nevadas. Apparently
Sue’s value in good grades was directly tied to her parents
rule of “No good grades, no mountains.” Fishing and hiking
in the Sierras won out rather than to any desire to make
honor roll or the like. In Sue’s youth she was a Mariner
Scout (a group tied to the Girl Scouts), an athlete and loved
anything related to the outdoors.
Not long after her graduation from high school, her love
of the outdoors led her to a career in the Forest Service
where she spent the next 17 years. Sue worked her way up
through the Forest Service from a seasonal Technician on
the Inyo National Forest cleaning toilets and servicing
campgrounds and then to a Clerk Typist on the Shasta
Trinity National Forest where she quickly had to learn how
to type upon receiving the position. Sue was soon
promoted to Construction Inspector and thus began her
interest in Land Surveying. Sue later moved on to the
Kaibab National Forest for a short time and then to the
Umatilla National Forest in Pendleton, Oregon. While a
Construction Inspector, Sue would talk for hours with the
land surveyors learning everything she could about the job.
In 1982, Sue began working in the engineering section
and soon became a corner searcher at the request of Dave
Haddock who had observed her impeccable attention to
detail. He was further impressed by the fact that she read
the entire
BLM Manual
in a week prior to applying for the
job. The Forest Service sent Sue to many surveying classes
early in her career and she always finished in the top of her
class. She was mentored by Dave Haddock, Dennis Gaylord,
and Doug Ferguson eventually becoming one of the first
licensed women surveyors in the state of Oregon in 1989.
Sue had a true love for “The Manual” and for corner
searching, often telling me that if we could just “haul the
kids out in the woods and let them find a stone we would
have all the surveyors we needed.” Sue’s career took an
abrupt turn in 1990 when she found herself faced with
Sue was one of the most
dedicated professionals I have
ever had the privilege to know.
—Pat Gaylord, PLS
Susan Elizabeth Newstetter • July 21, 1954 – May 1, 2015
