Suzanne Withers, 93, of Mansfield, MA; retired Rehoboth Town Clerk and former Rehoboth resident, passed away on September 30, 2024 at her residence surrounded by her loving family. She was the wife of the late William Malcolm Withers to whom she was married on September 2, 1950, and who died on February 1, 2003.
Born in Attleboro, MA on October 17, 1930, she was a daughter of the late Merton Earl Sharples and the late Zilpah Copeland (Bennett) Sharples. Raised and educated in the City of Attleboro, she was a 1948 graduate of Attleboro High School and the Chandler School for Women - Class of 1949. She was also a graduate of the Municipal Clerks Institute at Salve Regina College in Newport, RI.
Mrs. Withers worked in the Rehoboth town clerk's office for several years prior to being elected town clerk in 1976 where she served until her retirement in 1998.
An active member of the Rehoboth community, she was elected to the Rehoboth Board of Selectman, the Rehoboth School Committee and was appointed to the Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School Committee. She was also a member of the Rehoboth Master Plan Steering Committee.
In 1977, she was appointed to a justice of the peace position and worked in that capacity until 2013. She was a corporator of Bristol County Savings Bank from 1990 - 2005 and service on the Board of Directors of Bristol County Savings Bank Charitable Foundation for many years.
Active in many civic organizations, she was the past president of the Rehoboth Anawan Lions Club, a member of the Rehoboth Garden Club, and served on the Board of Directors of the Rehoboth Antiquarian Society.
Her international work included serving on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe where she assisted in supervising elections in Bijeljina, Bosnia, and Kosovo.
Among the awards she received was the Quill Award bestowed for her outstanding contributions to the Profession of Municipal Clerks, the IIMC President's Award of Merit and the Community Service Award from the Rehoboth Lions Club.
Her family recalls with fondness her conscientious attitude, her focus on the community she loved, and for being a thoughtful, responsible and social woman who enjoyed reading and travelling.
She leaves her children: Jane E. Carr and her husband, James, of South Chatham, MA, Carol W. Jerauld and her husband, Alan, of North Providence, RI; Peter J. Withers and his partner, Judy, of Lancaster, SC; Timothy W. Withers of Cranston, RI; and Christopher P. Withers and his wife, Kimberly, of Rehoboth, MA; 15 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.
Mrs. Withers was the grandmother of the late Lindsay A. Withers and sister of the late Bennett E. Sharples.
Family, friends and colleagues are cordially invited to attend visitation on Friday, October 25, 2024, from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm in the "Memorial Chapel" of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro, MA.
All were warmly welcomed to a Memorial Service held on Saturday, October 26, 2024, at 11:00 am at the Rehoboth Congregational Church,139 Bay State Road, Rehoboth, MA.
A private graveside service was held in Oak Knoll Cemetery, Rehoboth, MA.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Lindsay Withers Memorial Scholarship Fund, Southern Maine Community College Foundation, 2 Fort Road, South Portland, ME 04106 or at https://www.smccME.edu/withersscholarship OR to the Rehoboth Congregational Church Memorial Fund, PO Box 325, Rehoboth, MA 02769 or at https://www.rehobothcongregational.org/donate.
To send the family a written expression of sympathy, please visit an online guest book at www.dyer-lakefuneralhome.com.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro. (508) 695-0200
