Suzanne McCarter Tifft, known to family and friends as Sue or “Nanny,” died peacefully at home in Marion, Massachusetts, on June 24, 2025, surrounded by her loving sons and daughter-in-law. She was 93.

            Born in New York City on January 18, 1932, Sue was the daughter of Thomas Nesbitt McCarter Jr. and Suzanne Pierson McCarter. She spent her early years between New York City, Moorestown, New Jersey, and Marion, Massachusetts. She graduated from Miss Porter’s School in Connecticut in 1950 and started her first job “behind the scenes” at Steuben Glass on Fifth Avenue, which her father arranged so she could work discreetly-an arrangement she accepted with her trademark good humor and – a defining characteristic – a gentle defiance of social expectations.

            She married Henry Neville Tifft Jr. in 1954 at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York City. Together they raised two sons, William and Philip, first in New York and later in New Canaan, Connecticut, before dividing their time between Marion and Vero Beach.

            Sue had a deep love of travel that led her to a career as a travel agent, both professionally and later as an informal guide and advisor for friends. She was fiercely independent, endlessly curious, and famously hard to keep up with when exploring new places.

            Family and friends remember Sue for her overwhelming energy, sense of fun, and deep love of people from all walks of life. She made friends everywhere she went-from country clubs to bars-and relished meeting people of every background. She was never happier than when talking with strangers at a restaurant bar, comparing travel stories, debating art or politics, and learning about others. Her favorite phrase, “That’s different,” was always offered as a compliment, reflecting her delight in the new and unusual.

            She was devoted to keeping life interesting for those around her, organizing parties, stuffing piñatas with unexpected surprises, encouraging her grandchildren to gently bend the rules, often sending them out with the proviso “Don’t do anything I would do,”, and insisting that her family learn to sail, play tennis and cards, garden, dance, and appreciate theater-regardless of their natural talent.

            Sue was predeceased by her husband Henry in 2006 and her brothers Thomas and John McCarter. She is survived by her sons William (Ellen Bruzelius) and Philip Tifft; her grandchildren Axel (Debra Kao) and Anna (Kyle Wulff); and her great grandchildren Aurora, Ajax and Ellen; and many friends whose lives were brightened by her warmth, humor, and adventurous spirit.

            A memorial service will be held at Saint Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Marion at 4pm on August 1, 2025, followed by a celebration of life at the family home.

            Sue’s family asks that those wishing to honor her memory do so by making someone feel welcome, finding the joy in something “different,” or planning a new adventure of their own. Donations to the Buzzards Bay Coalition honoring her deep love of Marion and the Bay are also encouraged.

            Arrangements are with the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd. (Rt. 6), Mattapoisett. For online guestbook, visit www.saundersdwyer.com.

Margaret Diane (Peggy) Montgomery passed away on June 26, 2025 at home in Tarrytown, New York at the age of 87.

            Peggy spent her early childhood in Western Massachusetts and Vermont, after which she lived primarily in Mattapoisett and Fairhaven, MA. Valedictorian of the class of 1955 in Fairhaven, she went on to attend Bates College (BA), where she majored in English. She earned a Master of Arts in Teaching at the University of Wisconsin. She taught English in Bethel, CT from 1959 to 1961, then at John Jay High School in Cross River, NY from 1961 to 1991. She once stated, “I had the luxury of teaching to my interests: British and American literature, from Shakespeare to O’Neill and the Canterbury Tales, women writers, 20th Century novels, [and] creative writing.” There are thousands of her former students who love language, literature, and learning today as a result of her incisive and subtly subversive lessons. A testament to this is the fact that she remained in regular contact with many of her students and participated in several ongoing John Jay alumni reading groups until shortly before her death. Peggy was a founding member of the John Jay High School Retired Teachers Association, which awards an annual scholarship for graduating high school seniors who plan to enter the teaching profession.

            Peggy was a resident of Manhattan from 1961 to 2024, and in retirement, she expanded and deepened her ethic of service by volunteering in the city she loved. She shared her expertise at the New York Public Library Centers for Reading and Writing, the New York City Writing Project at Lehman College, and at Women in Need, where she conducted writing workshops for homeless single mothers. She also volunteered at the Caron Foundation, an addiction rehabilitation organization. She was founder and facilitator of the Manhattan chapter of OurPath.org.

            Through the Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York, she served meals to the needy, worked on the Nuclear Disarmament Task Force, was a member of the Women’s Alliance and the Circle of Elders, and served as Deacon of the church. She was a delegate to the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly for eight years. Perhaps the culmination of her UU service came when she served as president of the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office, which she described as some of the most rewarding work of her lifetime.

            Peggy was predeceased by her parents, George E. Montgomery and Margaret S. Montgomery (née Fallon), both of Mattapoisett, MA.

            She is survived by her sister, Linda J. Tunstall, and brother-in-law, Cuthbert Tunstall of Fairhaven, MA. A private family interment will follow in Mattapoisett, MA.

            Memorial contributions may be made to:

1) The Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York

https://onrealm.org/allsoulsnyc/-/form/give/now or 2) The Mattapoisett Free Public Library

https://www.mattapoisettlibrary.org/Pages/Index/182750/donate-wishlist

            These comments are thanks, in part, to Lois Chazen, who profiled Peggy for the All Souls Quarterly in Spring 2010.– David Quinn, JJHS ‘71.

Linda Joy (Miller) Pierce, 71, formerly of Wareham, passed away on June 30, 2025, at Bourne Manor Extended Care Facility, Bourne. She was the daughter of the late Donald and Gretel M. (Swanberg) Miller.

            She was born in Brockton and lived in Wareham and Mashpee for many years.  She graduated from Wareham High School.

            Linda worked as a bookkeeper for Franconia Hurley Fuel Company in Wareham for several years before retiring.

            Survivors include her son, Bradford E. Pierce and his wife, Heather of Rochester; a sister, Shelley Miller-Inglis of Mashpee; 4 grandchildren, Abbigail Dupont, Amelia Pierce, Alexander Pierce, and Amy Pierce all of Rochester. She was the sister of the late Donna Craven.

            Services are being held privately. Arrangements are by Chapman Funerals & Cremations – Wareham, 2599 Cranberry Hwy., Wareham.