Suzanne Longley Rogers died on Feb. 13 in New Bern, N.C. She was 91.

She was born on June 21, 1930 to Fredrick Jessup Longley and Elizabeth Gamble Cummins in Hudson, N.Y. She was an only child but grew up close to her cousins John (Jack) Hathaway and Betty Lisle Hathaway Swanson. She spent summers with the Hathaway cousins at their grandmother Susan Cummins’ cottage in Oak Bluffs. The three were a fixture at the East Chop Beach Club.

She attended the Kendall Hall School in Peterborough, N.H. and then Connecticut College. While at college, she met George Sterling Rogers from Chatham Center and Kinderhook, N.Y. They married in 1951.

Suzie and George lived in Pittsburgh and Kansas City, Mo. before moving to Durham, Conn. following George’s transfer to the home office of the International Silver Co. They raised their family of four children in the bliss of rural New England, attending the Church of the Epiphany; enjoying trout fishing, vegetable and flower gardening; and spending summers on the Vineyard.

In the late ‘60s, the family moved to an 18th century house in Cheshire, Conn., where Suzie’s love of family antiques and silver found a wonderful home. She was active at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and in book and bridge groups. But her love for and commitment to her children took most of her time. After the children enrolled in school, she volunteered at Gaylord Rehabilitation Center in Wallingford. She loved her work with patients, and enjoyed many relationships with other aides and staff.

Suzie and George retired to Lambert’s Cove Road and quickly got involved with Island life. They served as Big Brother and Big Sister to three siblings for many years, and were awarded Cape & Islands Big Brother and Big Sister of the Year in 1998. They worked with Pam Perry and eventually ran the Island Food Pantry, buying food from Mr. Pacheco at Reliable and stocking shelves. They raised funds from private donations from the tell-tale “mayonnaise jars and purple boxes” (which George invented) at Island shops and grocery stores. One of Suzie’s passions was to write a thank you note to every donor she could trace. She and George also brought communion to Grace Church parishioners; delivered Meals on Wheels in Aquinnah and Chilmark; and, as Hospice volunteers, visited the dying.

In 2002 they moved to Guilford, Conn. to be closer to family and seek medical treatment for George’s cancer. He died in 2003. Her son Christopher moved to Guilford from Oak Bluffs to help her manage the house and property. She was a member of Christ Church in Guilford, and a member of the ECW there.

In 2017, she moved to New Bern, N.C. and lived with her daughter Kathryn until her death. Kathy and her family took loving and devoted care of her.

She remained a faithful and enthusiastic fan of the New England Patriots her entire life. She regretted not being able “to get the Pats games on television down south.” Her family believes it was ironic and fitting that she died on Super Bowl Sunday.

She was predeceased by her husband George and a grandson Colin. She is survived by her children: The Reverend Elizabeth Page Rogers of Niantic, Conn.; Michael Sterling Rogers and his wife Carolyn Williams of Cheshire, Conn.; Christopher Longley Rogers of Coventry, R.I.; and Kathryn Ashton Bartels of New Bern, N.C. She is also survived by granddaughters Kelly Najera-Morales, Ashton Vickery Rodgers, Lauren Sterling Nyborg and Meghan Suzanne Rogers.

Interment will be held on the Vineyard at a later time.

Donations may be made to Island Food Pantry, P.O. Box 622, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568-0622.