MOULTONBOROUGH, N.H. – Susan Bucknam, 87, entered into the joy of heaven on August 13, while at home in Moultonborough, surrounded by her loving family.
Sue was born in Boston, Mass., on March 28, 1933, to Charles W. and Dorothy A. (Jones) Bucknam. She grew up in Wakefield and Melrose, Mass., and graduated from Melrose High School. She graduated from Endicott Junior College in Beverly, Mass., and the University of New Hampshire, earning a degree in English Literature and History. She received an MBA from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.
Susan was a successful businesswoman. If there was ever a glass ceiling that needed breaking, she would break it.
She began her career at Bemis Brothers Bag Company in Boston, where she met her best friend, Eleanor Rasmussen. Sue and Eleanor followed Bemis to Minneapolis, Minnesota. There, Sue worked for several companies, including Gold Bond Stamps, General Mills, and Northstar Industries, where she rose to Vice President of Finance and Administration in 1969.
In order to be close to family, Sue returned to New England in 1976, where she purchased a small business and successfully expanded it into a nation-wide mail-order enterprise. Sue also purchased The Miller’s Thumb in Greensboro, Vt., which she operated for several years. Sue sold both businesses and returned to Minneapolis, where she started her own financial advising and tax business, Bucknam Associates. She continued that business until her death. Sue moved back to New England in 2007, where she had purchased a home on Lake Winnipesauke in Moultonborough.
Throughout her life, Sue was active in her community, serving on a number of boards and committees, most recently as treasurer and trustee of Moultonborough Public Library. A woman of a deep and abiding faith, Sue was a long time active member of Mount Olivet Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, traveling to Europe as a member of their famous choir, and volunteering at Rolling Acres, Mount Olivet’s long term care facility for people with disabilities. When she moved to Moultonborough, she became faithful member of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Laconia.
Sue was an extraordinarily kind, thoughtful, loyal, and generous friend, sister, aunt, and cousin, and a generous friend to the many institutions and organizations she cared about.
She is survived by her beloved brother, Charles W. Bucknam Jr., and by her sister-in-law, Deborah T. Bucknam, both of Walden, Vt., by her nieces, Jennifer B. Black, and Serena A. Varley, as well as by thirteen grand nieces and nephews. Susan is also survived by her cherished cousins and their families: Dana A. Jones, Kate Kilgus, Liz MacLean, Jan McCracken, Red Boynton, Connie Sheridan, Doug Marsden, and Diane Morley. She is also survived by many more family members and dear friends. She is predeceased by her parents, Charles and Dorothy Bucknam, her adored cousin Meredith Cronk Graf and by her best friend Eleanor Rasmussen. Susan will be dearly missed by her family and friends.
A private service will be held on Saturday, August 22, at Lakeside Cemetery in Wakefield, Mass.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Endicott College or to the Moultonborough Public Library.
The Mayhew Funeral Homes and Crematorium (mayhewfuneralhomes.com), in Meredith and Plymouth, are assisting the family.
