Susan Taylor died after a short but severe illness of a virulent form of cancer on July 4 in Knoxville, Tenn., surrounded by family and friends. She was a longtime resident of Chamberlain in the town of Bristol, and was very active in the community.
Susan was born in Worcester, Mass., on Oct. 18, 1949, graduated from Sharon High School in Massachusetts, received a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University, and two master’s degrees and an A.B.D. from The University of Michigan. For many years she was a deeply caring teacher in the alternative education program of Lincoln Academy. For several years she was a member of the Bristol School Committee and a trustee of the Bristol Area Library. She was also once a member of the budget committee of the town of Bristol.
She was the loving mother of her son, Jack, and stepson, Adam and his wife, Stephanie, and deeply involved grandmother of their three children, Emerson, Peach and Oscar.
Susan was drawn to people, everywhere she went. In a real sense she got to know everyone she met. “What is your name?” was often her opening remark when dealing with someone in a store, or over the phone — or in the hospital. And this led her to establish innumerable human relationships. She accepted, and appreciated, people of all sorts, even some who many might think of as being somewhat loony.
With her husband, Edgar, and her children, over the years she cared for a wide variety of pets, but cats were her special love. And she will be deeply missed by her cat, Monkey.
She traveled widely in Europe, and passionately loved Paris. She also passionately loved the visual arts and music, especially opera. She loved books, and was an avid and wide reader, with several books usually going at the same time, and she felt compelled to finish all books even those she did not like. And for many years she was an active member of a Bristol area book club, whose members will greatly miss her presence and contributions.
She loved food and cooking, and was a great and passionate baker. Friends across the miles delighted in receiving her home-baked holiday breads and cookies. She had a library of many hundreds of cookbooks, which she referred to often, and made use of most of them at one time or another.
She had a strong sense of justice, and from her college years, to the present, engaged in causes she felt passionately about. She marched in Washington to end the Vietnam War in her twenties, and marched in Washington for women’s rights in her sixties. She wanted to make a difference, and she did, in many, many ways.
She will be deeply missed by her many family members, her many friends, and her many acquaintances here in Lincoln County, in the Boston area, in Ann Arbor, Mich., and in Knoxville, Tenn., as well as elsewhere, including Europe.
She is survived by her husband of 45 years, Edgar; her sons, Jack and Adam; and her three grandchildren; as well as her three brothers, David, Mark and his wife, Gina Zizza, and Bob and his wife, Shari Levitan.
