Susan N. Rice

Susan N. Rice died peacefully at the Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, with her loving family by her side and flying back to be with her. Born in 1942 to parents Delos Robertson Nash and Dorothea (Huff) Nash, Susan grew up in Mountain Lakes, NJ, and graduated from Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA.

Susan leaves her beloved children, Laura (Rice) Boer and her husband, Marco, of Hingham, MA and Philip Rice, and his wife, Jennifer, of Alexandria, VA. She also leaves her cherished grandchildren, Sydney, Lydia, Camille and Beatrix Boer and Ethan, Gideon and Adelyn Rice, who will miss her dearly.

Besides her parents, Susan is preceded in death by a brother she adored, David Nash. We lost David in the Vietnam War, which brought great sorrow to Susan through the years. David was a promising student and baseball player in college. While in service, he stepped on a landmine while on patrol and ultimately lost his life.

After her marriage to Jonathan, Susan worked at MassMutual and eventually, became a paralegal, working in the same firm as her husband, Robinson Donovan in Springfield, MA. These were occasionally part time jobs as she handled the majority of the child-rearing responsibilities.

Susan was a woman of many hobbies. She loved to read and attended the Brewster Ladies Library for any discussion or lecture they had on the schedule. An avid knitter, she enjoyed making sweaters and scarves for her grandchildren. Not a morning went by without her completing a variety of New York Times puzzles.

Her husband also introduced her to his favorite place in the world, a very special community in Brewster on Cape Cod. They developed lifelong friends, spending many summers sailing, playing tennis and bike riding. As they entered retirement, this group took a number of overseas trips, something that Susan greatly enjoyed. And these friends were so very helpful in the last years of her life, after Jonathan died and as she began losing her mobility.

Susan’s family would like to express their thanks to her healthcare team, the staff at Maplewood at Brewster, and the caring nurses and doctors at Cape Cod Hospital that took care of her in the last week of her life.

Her family will cherish their memories of wine and limoncello evenings, card games at the house, and special holiday visits from Grandma.

A celebration of life will be held in 2027 at a date to be announced. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Susan’s name to the Brewster Ladies Library. For online condolences, please visit www.nickersonfunerals.com.