Susan Panella, of Townsend

Townsend - Susan (Aniszewski) Panella, 74, a beloved wife, mother, teacher, and friend, died peacefully on Sunday morning, December 15, 2024 in her family home after a multi-year long battle with Multiple System Atrophy, a rare variant of Parkinson's Disease. Sue was born on October 11, 1950 in Webster, MA, the daughter of Bernard and Edna Aniszewski of Dudley, MA. She was married shortly after her graduation from Emmanuel College and her earliest teaching experiences were as a nursery school and preschool teacher. Sue suspended her career in order to be at home with her three children, returning some years later to work as a special education teacher for over twenty years at the Squannacook and Spaulding Memorial elementary schools in Townsend, earning a Master's Degree from Rivier College along the way, graduating summa cum laude. Sue will be remembered as a devoted wife and an amazingly nurturing mother, possessing an unwavering and fierce love for her children and grandchildren. She was an avid reader and a terrific cook, making a pierogi that did her Polish heritage proud. She also had the uncanny ability to fall asleep during the most dramatic and loudest of movies. Remarkable. She reveled in the outdoors and loved the water. She loved music and was accomplished at the piano. Her prodigious ability as a caregiver allowed her to have a profound impact on the lives of her hundreds of students and their families. She was the kindest and most gentle of souls, with an almost logic-defying innocence, and her smile went on for days. She was totally selfless, somehow managing to always find the good in people. She had the great gift of making you feel better about yourself no matter the circumstance. Sue was a beautiful light in a world which can hardly afford to lose any. Susan is survived by John, her husband of 52 years, her son Jason and his wife Sarah of Hollis NH, her son Matthew of Londonderry NH, her daughter Karen and her husband Brendan of Groveland, her brother Bill and his wife Jean of Webster, her sister Jean of Dudley, and her three grandchildren, Jack, Kate, and Ridley. A gathering in celebration of her life will be planned. A GoFundMe page has been set up in Sue's name with all funds raised going to the Multiple System Atrophy United Research Consortium. In lieu of flowers, we would ask people to make a donation of any size to this fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-loving-memory-of-susan-panella-fund-research-for-msa

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Susan Panella, of Townsend

October 11, 1950 - December 15, 2024