Susan Wickenden Hunter

"SPRINGFIELD - Susan Wickenden Hunter died peacefully on Sept. 23, 2015, in Amherst, Massachusetts, due to complications of a neurological disease which she had borne with bravery and good humor for the past eleven months. Susan was born on January 12, 1948, daughter of Richard H. Wickenden of Toledo, Ohio, and Katherine E. Menton of Montclair, New Jersey. Susan and her three brothers grew up as self-described "faculty brats" at Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts, where their parents taught history and chemistry, respectively. Susan attended high school at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, Massachusetts, before matriculating at Wellesley College where she majored in English. She graduated from Wellelsey in 1969, in the same class as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton -- a figure Susan would later admire for her political positions and feminist conviction. Susan married Graham C. Hunter II at Tabor Academy's Wickenden Chapel in June 1969. After earning a Master's degree in Library Science from University of Texas in Austin, Susan and Graham returned to New England, where Susan worked as children's librarian at the Fiske Free Library in Claremont, New Hampshire. In 1984 she was hired as librarian at Riverside Middle School, a position she held until her retirement in 2012. Susan was also active in the library community at a national level through her service to the American Library Association; she served on the Intellectual Freedom Committee (1994-1998), the Best Books for Young Adults Committee (1999-2002) and held memberships in the American Association of School Librarians and the Association for Library Service to Children. A lover of music, Susan sang frequently at the Weathersfield Center Church and the Unitarian Universalist church of Springfield, Vermont. She was involved with the Crown Point Road Association, and was an exemplary servant to the Proctor Library in Ascutney, Vermont. She was community-minded and did substantial volunteer work with many organizations in southern Vermont. Literature and books continued to be important to her after her retirement; she was an active member of a book club just weeks before her death. Susan was a devoted mother to her sons Matthew and Patrick, and a loving wife to her husband Graham who pre-deceased her in 2011. She was dedicated to her convictions. Susan's kindness and compassion, and her interest in the wellbeing of others were integral to her personality. She loved hiking, ducks, travel, cooking, reading, liberal politics, dogs, and spoonerisms. She will be remembered by her students for her kindness, by her friends for her steadfastness, and by her family for her spirit. She will be missed by all. A Memorial Service will be held for Susan on Sunday, November 8th at 3 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Springfield, VT. All are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Weathersfield Proctor Library, PO Box 519 - 5181 Route 5, Ascutney, Vermont 05030. "