Susan Breeyear

Susan Breeyear, Williston, VT, died October 10, 2024, of a rare form of cancer. 

A longtime staff employee of Saint Michael’s, Susan served as the assistant director of instructional technology for 15 years. She was a wife, mother, daughter and well-loved member of Trinity Baptist Church in Williston. 

Born in Barre, Susan (maiden name Lemieux) majored in English at the University of Vermont and joined the Peace Corps so she could teach English as a Second Language to students in Senegal, West Africa in the 1970s. After her college years, Susan was assistant manager of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in Durham, NH, and enjoyed playing her guitar and singing for others to share her faith.

She met her husband, James J. Breeyear, in Burlington, VT, while she was student teaching at a grade school in Essex. They fell in love and married in Williamstown, VT, on June 8, 1974. Susan worked at the University of Vermont in the Romance Languages Department, then as the Language Resource Center Coordinator in the Language Lab, and she retired after 15 years in her position at Saint Michael’s as the assistant director of instructional technology.

Susan loved crafting, gardening, reading, taking walks and hiking. She was very devoted to her family and enjoyed participating in the Whitehill family reunions held in Ryegate, VT, each year. After retirement, Susan found her love of quilting. She made beloved quilts for everyone in her family and gave them out as gifts to others as quickly as she finished them. Susan’s good-natured, yet sarcastic sense of humor was loved by all who knew her, and her generous and willing spirit touched the lives of many. 

Susan is survived by her husband, James Breeyear, two daughters, her mother and extended family.