Obituary of Suzanne A. Barlow

Suzanne (Astley) Barlow went into the light on September 12, 2021 from the comfort of her loving home surrounded by her loving family. Suzanne, the eldest of six children of the late Joseph and Jennie (Salmon) Astley, was born in Holyoke, MA on August 20, 1935. She was educated in South Hadley and Keene, NH schools and graduated from Brattleboro (VT) High School in 1953. She worked as a Customer Service Representative and a Purchasing Agent for several companies in New England, including the former Dunham Bros. in Brattleboro, VT, the former Tecnifax in Holyoke, Tambrands in Palmer, and NTP/RCT in Holyoke. She was a member of the Purchasing Management Association of Western New England for over 30 years, serving as President for several terms and semi-retired as President-Emeritus. She especially enjoyed reading books and solving crossword puzzles in ink. An avid supporter of the Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots, and Bruins, she often commented how fortunate we were in MA to have teams from four major sports. Sue loved to travel and lately had spent summers in Maine and Cape Cod with her family. She was predeceased by two brothers Joseph (Jobie) in 1958 and David in 1967. Suzanne is survived by her four awesome children, Cathy Groux of Chicopee, Diane Foisy and husband Steven of Templeton, Robert Barlow, Jr. and partner Sharon Chouinard of Ludlow, and Scott Barlow and wife Sheila of Hampton, NH. Grandma also leaves her five shining grandchildren, Alyson Foisy, Evan Foisy and wife Felisha, Nathan Foisy, Jessica Barlow and partner Sean Caron, and Jonathan Groux and fiancé Bailey Jones. Great-grandma also leaves three cherished great-grandsons, Carter, Jedidiah, and Asher, and one great-granddaughter, Vivian. Sistie leaves her much-loved siblings, Don and wife Sandra of Putney, VT, Rosemary (Mimi) Helman and husband David of South Hadley, and Bette Dupont of Chicopee. Auntie Sistie will be remembered by her many terrific nephews, nieces, great-nieces, great-nephews and great-great nieces and nephews. She will be missed by her loving cousin Barbara Fiske of Adams, her special cousin-in-law Connie Ashe of Glover, VT, and her life-long precious friend Phyllis Keller of Modesto, CA. Funeral services will be private and a Celebration of Her Life will be held by her family at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to: Reading Is Fundamental Attn: Development Dept. 1255 23rd St., NW – Suite 300 Washington, DC 20037. Beers & Story South Hadley Funeral Home was entrusted with the arrangements. For more information please visit www.beersandstory.com