On Thursday, August 13, 2026, SUSAN KASTINA passed away peacefully. A devoted daughter of the late John & Leona Kastina, Susan grew up in Northeast Baltimore and was a member of the Shrine of the Little Flower parish and a graduate of Eastern High School. Susan was widowed young and then was married to her beloved husband Mickey for many years until his passing.

Susan was the bedrock of what made Center Place a safe and caring community for the Senior and Disabled of Dundalk for many decades. She began as a resident and soon became an “Unofficial Assistant Manager” serving in a role that was key to the efficient operation of the residence. Soon thereafter, her abilities became clear to management and she was formally hired in that capacity. Not only did she get to know nearly all the residents and their needs on a personal basis, she also developed key relationships with all the contractors and service providers that came to work on various maintenance tasks at the building. She was highly knowledgeable in many technical areas as well as a skilled supervisor, making sure that the tasks were done quickly, correctly and for a fair price. She was also a key player in the physical and mental health of many of the residents, making sure that those who were medically frail were checked on frequently, that those who were psychiatrically frail had competent staff attending to their needs and ensuring their stability and that those who lacked transportation or sufficient food were provided with those resources. Many Managers over the decades came to rely very heavily in her expertise, intuition and compassion. She never let a resource go to waste -if a resident passed or moved and there were medical supplies, equipment or furniture that another resident could use, she made sure they were redistributed to the benefit of countless residents over the years. She knew every priest at St. Rita’s as well as nearly every Police Officer or EMT that served the Center Place area and always employed that knowledge for the benefit and safety of residents in crisis. Even after she retired from her official role as Assistant Manager, her drive to care for others could not be stilled and she “adopted” select residents that lacked family or adequate supports to support on her own and used her own resources to do so. She never bragged about what she did for others, just tirelessly went about her business of providing compassionate support for her community and never expected thanks or recognition.  Susan had many friends and will be sorely missed. We will honor her memory with our kindness to others.

Interment is private. Her friends plan to gather soon to celebrate her life together and will post details in the coming weeks.