Susan E. Howell

Susan E. Howell passed away on August 28, 2024 at Avita of Needham after a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Susan was born June 16, 1950 in Boston, MA to Ralph Victor and Florence Marion Brown. She is survived by her husband, Bruce Howell of Needham, brother Peter Brown (Pam) of Kittery, ME, and sister Nancy Duffie (Ron) of Charlotte, NC, son Adam and his wife, Colleen (MacCord) Young of Somersworth, NH, and daughter Vanessa and her husband Matthew Iorlano of Millis, MA. She also is survived by her four grandchildren, Hope, Henry, Alex, and Jackson, and two sisters-in-law, Carol Michael of Laconia, NH and Laura Griffith of Lancaster, PA.

Susan grew up in Cambridge, MA, graduating from Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School. She was active in the Park Street Church youth group, and traveled to Costa Rica on a high school mission trip. Summers were often spent in Rye, NH, where her parents owned a camp near the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1977, she met her future husband, Bruce. She started banking at the branch where Bruce worked, and Susan bravely sent him a note asking him if he would like to go on a date with her. In that hand-written note, she told Bruce that if he already had a girlfriend, she would have to do her banking through the drive-up teller from then on because she would be too embarrassed to enter into the bank again! Fortunately for both of them, Bruce accepted the invitation, and that was the start of a romance that led to their marriage in November of 1979, and lasted for nearly 45 years.

In 1981, Susan and Bruce welcomed their daughter, Vanessa, who joined Adam, Susan’s son from a previous marriage, into their home in Needham. Susan ran her own cleaning business and later went on to work as church secretary at Carter Memorial UMC, with the Rec Department for the Town of Needham, and as Office Service Coordinator for Partners Healthcare.

As Bruce gradually lost his vision due to an inherited retinal disease, Susan was constantly adapting their home and lifestyle as they forged their marriage and parenthood. She was amazingly creative about doing whatever was necessary to accommodate his needs, while motivating him to learn the skills he would need to be a successful father and husband. She discovered The Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, MA, and encouraged Bruce to attend rehabilitation training that ultimately enabled Bruce to be hired as their Web Accessibility Manager there for over ten years.

While Susan generally preferred to be close to home, during their marriage, she visited parts of the country, including San Francisco, CA, Albuquerque, NM, Key West, Pompano Beach, Naples, and Tampa, FL, Savannah and Tybee Island, GA, Charleston, SC, Charlotte, NC, New York City.  But, one of her favorite locations was closer to home in Essex, CT.

Susan’s hobbies included reading, counted cross-stitch, knitting, and gardening. But, she really loved to walk for exercise right up to the end of her life. Two of her greatest walking routes were walking the entire New Hampshire coastline one day with her sister, and on three different  occasions, walking all the way from the Public Garden in downtown Boston to her home in Needham. So many of her friends and neighbors would comment on seeing Susan walking all over Needham by herself or with her husband. No route ever seemed too long or daunting to her. If there is a walking club in Heaven, Susan is sure to be a member!

A Celebration of Susan’s life will be held at Carter Memorial United Methodist Church on Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 2:00PM

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution in her memory to: The Carroll Center for the Blind (https://carroll.org/donate/)