Susan L. McNamara passed away on June 28th, 2023 at 71 years of age. She was born in Boston, the daughter of the late Thomas J. and Louise D. McNamara. She spent 65 years living in Quincy and Milton, Massachusetts, then after her father died, spent 8 years living in St. Petersburg, FL. She also enjoyed spending time at the family summer home in New Hampshire. She is survived by her son Michael Walsh and his wife Stacey, of Mt. Pleasant, SC, their two sons Samuel and Russell, and many cousins of the McNamara and Gillis families. She is also survived by her lifelong friend Kathy Ahern of St. Petersburg, FL, and her family.
Susan was devoted to adult education, teaching nights as an adjunct professor at Northeastern University for over 35 years in the Management Information Systems program that her father pioneered there in the 1960s. At its height in the 1990s, with over 1,000 faculty, she was one of the first ten faculty recognized by their Excellence in Teaching award. She frequently taught 100 – 120 students each academic quarter and strived to learn every student’s name by the third week of class. She also taught courses in mathematics and in computer science in the 1980s and 1990s at Massasoit Community College, the American Institute of Banking, and Simmons College.
Susan believed that to be a successful teacher, one had to always be a learner. Therefore, she returned to a formal education program each decade. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Simmons College, and master’s degrees from Harvard University and Northeastern University. Even after she stopped teaching, she continued to seek opportunities for new learning and became certified as a professional guardian in Florida in 2020. A big regret was having to withdraw from a doctoral program from George Washington University in the early 2000s due to prolonged side effects from chemotherapy treatments.
Her outside interests included reading and visiting with her many friends, both in Massachusetts and in Florida. She was a life member and past commodore of Squantum Yacht Club in Quincy, MA.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated in late summer at St Ann’s in Wollaston, MA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Servants of Christ Ministries, 87 A Maple St., Scituate, MA 02066.
Service Info
Address for Service: St. Ann’s Church, Wollaston MA
Service type: Church