Susan Hill

Susan Breese Hill, 83, passed away peacefully on Tuesday October 19, 2021. She is survived by her 3 sons and their spouses, Greg Hill and Jenn, Bob Hill and Jen, and Dan Hill and Jen and her five grandchildren Julia, Breese, Emmett, Spencer, and Lydia. She leaves her siblings Mary Ann Brendel of Williamsburg, VA and Jimmy Breese of Avila Beach, CA. She was predeceased by her husband Barry Hill.

Affectionately known as Susu or Mimi Susu, she was a beacon of positivity and warmth. She had a special way of making people feel valued, loved, and significant. Always the optimist, Susan was able to see the bright side in any negative situation. She was a loving and caring mother and grandmother who always went the extra mile to let her family know how deeply she cared for them. She was always there for her family with love, a hug, a positive word, or her famous celebratory “whoo whoo” dance.

Early in her life as a young woman, she took a train by herself to Pennsylvania to start her college career at Bryn Mawr College, where she majored in English. After college, she moved to Cambridge, MA and worked at the Harvard Business School as an administrative secretary. Moves that took courage and determination for a young woman who had grown up in the small town of Stanton, Tennessee.

She met her husband Barry on a blind date set up by her sister Mary Ann who was dating Barry’s roommate and best friend at William and Mary. Their second date occurred 5 years later when Susan called Barry at the insistence of her mother. Mom was right and Barry and Susan married in 1963 and were happily married for 44 years until Barry’s death in 2007.

Family life for Susan and Barry began in Sudbury with the birth of their son Greg in 1966 and then Bob in 1970. In 1974 Dan was born and Susan and Barry bought an old farmhouse in Stow where they would raise their family for the next twenty years. Susan became an active member of the Stow community. For many years she was a key member of the Stow Spring Fest Committee that planned and organized the annual event that celebrates the town. She was also instrumental in establishing the Stow Community Chest, a community fundraising initiative that helps to fund social services in the community. It is still active 38 years later. Susan enjoyed rich friendships in Stow which lasted her lifetime. Her tight-knit group of friends, the “LT’s” were special to Susan and provided fun and laughs, as well as amazing support all the way through to the end of her life.

With Barry’s retirement, they moved from Stow to their house on Ossipee Lake in NH. Susan continued to work full time at the Sacopee Valley Health Clinic as an administrative secretary. Never loving to drive, she took a bus from Ossipee to get to the hospital on the day of her 1st grandchild, Julia’s, birth. She would be at the hospital 4 more times for the births of Breese, Emmett, Spencer, and Lydia. She devoted lots of time and energy to develop unique and strong relationships with each of her grandchildren. After Barry’s passing, Susan moved to Lexington and enjoyed retirement by spending time reading and being with family and friends .

Susan will always be remembered as someone who enjoyed helping others and giving of herself to see others enjoy life. She approached life and people with unbounded warmth and enthusiasm and will be remembered in our hearts for the special way she made us all feel.

Susan often said that one of greatest enjoyments in life was having all of her family together talking, laughing, and enjoying each other. Her family will celebrate her life doing just that at a private burial and celebration of her life. In lieu of flowers, donations in Susan’s memory may be made online to the Stow Community Chest at https://www.stowcommunitychest.org/donate or PO Box 392 Stow, MA 01775.