Susan McMurtrie Terrell, 86, died peacefully Feb. 16 at her home overlooking the Damariscotta River, following a long illness.
She was born and grew up in Norristown, Penn.
She earned an R.N. degree from Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia and a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania.
In 1944 she joined the SPARS, the women’s division of the Coast Guard, and attained the rank of coxswain, serving in Miami Beach, Fla. and Manhattan Beach, New York City, until the end of WWII when all women were discharged.
In 1946 she returned home to Norristown and took a job as a school nurse in nearby Phoenixville.
In 1949 she married Harrison Malone Terrell, Jr. They had two daughters, Nancy and Betsy; adopted a son, Michael; and later had a second son, Harrison McMurtrie “Terry.”
In 1960 she began teaching, first preschool and later first grade, at a private elementary school in Devon, Penn., and found that she thoroughly enjoyed teaching.
In 1971 she moved to Maine with Nancy and Terry, settling in Camden, where she operated a nursery school/kindergarten from 1972-1980. During retirement she served as a literacy volunteer, managed an art gallery in Waldoboro, traveled and enjoyed reading, and knitting and keeping in touch with her many friends. Her deep interest in others and her kind and generous nature endeared her to many people.
Her husband predeceased her in 2001.
She is survived by a sister, Ellen Simon of Urbana, Ill.; four children; several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Memorial service 2 p.m., Sat., April 14 at the Midcoast Friends Meetinghouse, Belvedere Rd., Damariscotta.
Memorial donations may be sent to Kno-Wal-Lin Hospice, 170 Pleasant St., Rockland, ME 04841.
