Extra

Susan Dinkelspiel Cerny died today after a long illness.

A Bay Area native, she was a long time resident of Berkeley and a stalwart and effective champion for preserving the special character of the community. Susan served as chair of the Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission, authored or championed numerous landmark applications, was past President and a long-time Board member of the Berkeley Architectural Heritage Association (BAHA), and had many other community connections.

Not least among her accomplishments was authoring Berkeley Landmarks (both the first, and revised, editions), as well as a definitive guidebook to the architecture and history of the Bay Area, and serving as editor and one of the lead writers of the revised versions of BAHA's popular "41 Berkeley Walking Tours" publication. She was a careful and thoughtful researcher and writer and an absolutely dedicated volunteer for every aspect of local preservation causes and activities. 

Susan is survived by her husband, Joe Cerny, and siblings, children, and grandchildren. When we know, we'll let you know if a memorial service or gathering is planned.