Sue Dobson Mason was born on September 3rd, 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio to Donald Dean Dobson and Mildred Gaenell Stokes Dobson. Her parents met during World War II and were married in Wichita, Kansas. As a result of her father's military service and civilian employment, Sue and her family moved around quite a bit during her childhood – calling Ohio, West Virginia, Texas, and Connecticut home.
In 1964 Sue graduated from High School in Westport, Connecticut and returned to her "Home Among the Hills" at West Virginia Wesleyan College to obtain her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing in 1969. While at Wesleyan, she met John Sidney Mason of Pepperell, Massachusetts when his physics experiment went awry – raining plaster into Sue's chemistry experiment on the floor below. In true Sue-fashion, after going upstairs to express her displeasure, she took John to dinner for their first date, and even picked up the tab! After a relatively short courtship, Sue and John married on June 8th, 1968.
Following Sue's graduation from Wesleyan, she and John lived in Lowell, Haverhill, and Merrimac, Massachusetts where she worked as a nurse at many Merrimack Valley Hospitals – ending her long nursing career at Mercy Hospital in Portland, Maine. Along the way, Sue and John managed to find time to raise a family together by adjusting their professional lives to accommodate the children’s schedules. They even managed to spend several years sailing up and down the east coast – a hobby that they both loved.
Ever the restless one, Sue (along with John) moved to St Thomas, USVI where she worked in a private medical practice. She returned stateside and lived in Portland and worked for several years at Mercy Hospital. When at long last she was ready to retire they relocated to Charleston, South Carolina. She was residing there in the fall of 2019 when hurricane Dorian struck the Carolina coast. She and John and their beloved cairn terriers drove towards Columbia to avoid the storm. It was during that exodus when her cancer was discovered. She bravely met the challenge of chemotherapy with good initial results, but the cancer returned. Ultimately, they decided to return to Haverhill to live with their son and to be near to their daughter and their families.
It is difficult to capture her life in so few words. In addition to her commitment to her family and her profession, she also became an expert quilter and made close friends in her quilting group. Sue also loved to travel. She traveled with her sister to quilt shows in Vermont, Pennsylvania, and Texas (among other places) and always had multiple projects underway. Sue will be remembered for many things, and her beautiful quilts will always be near the top of that list.
Sue is survived by her son Donald Sidney Mason and his daughters Noelia and Helena Mason; and her daughter Marybeth Mason Samoisette and her husband Kenneth Samoisette and their children Sydney, Nathaniel and Alex Samoisette. Her children and grandchildren meant the world to Sue. She is also survived by her siblings: Scott Dobson of Port Townsend, WA; Beth Dobson and her husband Paul Driscoll and children, Elaine, Robert and Katherine and Eric Dobson and his wife Dawn of St Thomas, USVI and Northampton, MA, and their children Travis and Felyse.
As she and her granddaughter Sydney often said to each other when they parted, “I love you near, I love you far, I love you no matter where you are.” Sue died young at 75 years, but she managed to squeeze a lot of quality time into those years.
Condolences may be sent to: John Sidney Mason, Bentley Commons, 66 Hawthorne Drive, Apartment 203, Bedford, New Hampshire 03110.
Sue's family with hold a private celebration-of-life party in the spring when the weather is nice, and the flowers are in bloom.
If you would like to make a donation in Sue's memory, please do so to the charity of your choice, or practice a random act of kindness in her name. Sue will smile upon either!