Suzanne Louise Dagurt, a Baltimore fundraiser and community volunteer who spent decades supporting medical research and philanthropic causes, died in Towson on March 5. She was 87.
Dagurt, known to family and friends as Susie and “Sue Sue,” built a career in nonprofit development, most prominently with the Maryland chapter of the American Heart Association. After retiring, she continued working as a fundraising consultant and remained active in civic and Jewish community organizations in Baltimore.
“She was a light,” said daughter Paige Nathan, who is an only child. “She loved connecting people more than anything.”
Dagurt was born and raised in Baltimore, the eldest of three children of Helen and Max Margolis. The family lived on the corner of Hilton and Sequoia avenues, within walking distance of what was then a new congregation, Beth El. Her parents were among the founding members. Dagurt would grow up at Beth El and become active with the synagogue’s Sisterhood.
Nathan said her mother was raised in a lively household where guests were frequent. “The door was never locked,” Nathan said. “People were always coming and going, and my grandparents entertained all the time.”
Dagurt’s father, Max Margolis, was a well-known Baltimore clothier who owned a men’s clothing store first called Father & Son and later operated under his own name. Both of Dagurt’s parents worked in the business, and the family remained connected to Baltimore’s Jewish community.
For a brief period during Dagurt’s childhood, the family lived in Wallace, North Carolina, where her grandfather, Isaac Margolis, had once operated a dry goods store. They soon returned to Baltimore, in part because there were few Jewish families in the town.
Back in Baltimore, Dagurt attended local schools and graduated from Forest Park High School. She later attended the University of Maryland, where she met her future husband, Sheldon Gerson Dagurt. The couple started a 61-year marriage while he was completing law school.
In her early years as a young mother, Dagurt worked as a nursery school teacher. In the early 1970s, she returned to school at Loyola University Maryland, majoring in political science and graduating with honors.
Nathan recalled that her mother balanced parenting and schoolwork with determination.
“She would take me to appointments or activities and bring her books with her,” Nathan said. “She was always studying.”
After graduating, Dagurt began working in nonprofit organizations focused on social services, including what was then called the Maryland Association for Retarded Citizens.
“She was a do-gooder,” Nathan said. “She really wanted to make the world a better place.”
Dagurt joined the American Heart Association in the early 1980s, where she served as director of development for the Maryland chapter. In that role, she organized fundraising events, cultivated donors and helped connect supporters with doctors and researchers working to prevent and treat heart disease.
Dagurt spent roughly a quarter-century with the Heart Association before retiring. She later taught a continuing education course at Goucher College on development and philanthropy.
Her consulting work included assisting nonprofits serving children and families, including the Children’s Guild in Owings Mills and organizations focused on preventing child abuse.
“She always wanted to bring more people into a cause,” Nathan said. “One of her expressions was that people support what they create.”
In her later years, Dagurt became deeply involved with the Baltimore Women’s Giving Circle, a philanthropic group that pools members’ donations to support nonprofit organizations serving women and children.
Susan Perl, a fellow member of the group, said Dagurt quickly became one of its most active members.
“Suzanne was an extremely active member of our Giving Circle since she joined in 2014 until her recent death,” Perl wrote in an email. “She sat on almost every committee we had — Education, Membership, Nominating and Leadership Development, Communications — and her real passion was the Grantee Connect Committee, which she chaired from 2020 to 2022.”
Dagurt remained active in the organization until shortly before her death and participated in its 25th anniversary celebration last November.
“Suzanne was passionate and deeply committed to our organization, going beyond what was expected,” Perl wrote. “She offered creative solutions with her energy and thoughtful contributions.”
Outside her professional and volunteer work, Dagurt enjoyed golf, book clubs, knitting, mahjong, canasta, theater and travel.
“My mom was very outgoing and social, and my dad was more introverted,” said Nathan, who described their relationship as complementary. “He supported everything she wanted to do.”
The couple traveled widely over the years, visiting destinations across Europe, Asia and Latin America and traveling to Israel. After her husband’s death in 2020, Dagurt continued traveling with her daughter. Their final trip together, in 2025, was a Jewish heritage cruise from Budapest to Prague.
Nathan said her mother remained active until shortly before she became ill with cervical cancer.
“She never wanted to miss anything,” Nathan said. “She always wanted to be part of what was happening.”
Looking back on her mother’s life, Nathan said Dagurt’s defining trait was her ability to bring people together.
“She loved making the world a better place.”
Ellen Braunstein is a freelance writer.
