Suzanne Fleisher Roberts, actress, civic educator, children’s therapist, broadcaster and philanthropist who with her husband and son established the Roberts Cancer Proton Therapy Center, died April 20 at her Center City home after several months of declining health. She was 98.

Mrs. Roberts was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Elkins Park, attended Oak Lane Country Day School in Cheltenham Township and then Harcum Junior College in Bryn Mawr. She then studied at the Tamara Daykarhanova School of the Stage in New York.

Mrs. Roberts married Ralph J. Roberts (W’41, Hon’05), founder of Comcast (Almanac July 14, 2015). She wore many hats in her lifetime. In the 1940s, she sold war bonds and performed for the USO and the Treasury Department. She went on to perform on Broadway, on the award-winning radio show “Within Our Gates,” on the CBS show “A Dramatization of the Classics,” and on “This Week in Philadelphia.” NBC named her the “Number One Radio Actress in Philadelphia.” She wrote and directed radio and TV campaigns for Mayor Richardson Dilworth and US Senator Joseph Clark. In 1952, she wrote The Candidate and Television. She appeared in TV commercials, and at age 80, she started “Seeking Solutions With Suzanne,” which won two Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.

At age 58, Mrs. Roberts earned a bachelor’s degree in counseling from Antioch University, and two years later, a master’s degree in special education and counseling from Antioch. She worked as a therapist with children at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and was a part-time therapist for preschoolers at the Children’s Crisis Treatment Center in Philadelphia while also attending night school.

She and her husband made significant donations to the arts, higher education and medicine. In 2006, her husband and son Brian L. Roberts (W’81) pledged $15 million to help create the first-of-its-kind proton therapy center for the treatment of cancer, the Roberts Cancer Proton Therapy Center (Almanac December 12, 2006, December 8, 2009). They also established the Suzanne F. Roberts Cultural Development Fund and the Suzanne Roberts Theatre, which is home to the Philadelphia Theatre Company, and they supported BalletX. In 2014, she and her husband received the Philadelphia Award, recognizing their longtime contributions to the city.

Mrs. Roberts is survived by her children, Catherine, Lisa, Ralph, Jr. and Brian; and eight grandchildren. Her life will be celebrated after the effects of COVID-19 have passed.