Suzanne Graham

1926 - 2024

Suzanne Graham
August 6, 2024
Adventurer, environmental advocate, adored mother and grandmother, Suzanne Squire Graham, a long-time resident of Greenwich, Connecticut, died peacefully on August 6, 2024, at the age of ninety-seven. Born in Philadelphia, Suzanne was the daughter of John I. Squire and Helen B. Squire. Following her graduation from Lower Merion High School, Suzanne went to Cornell, where she received a degree in Economics. Her professional career included working at Towers, Perrin, Forster, and Crosby Inc., in Philadelphia, where she met her husband of 56 years, Roland B. Graham, Jr. (Tim), with whom she traveled the globe until Tim's passing in 2011.
Suzanne was admired for her intrepid adventuring. Upon winning a dare from her father shortly after graduating college, she earned her pilot's license, flying often from Philadelphia for vacations at the Jersey shore. More than all, Suzanne loved to hike. She was a proud decades-long member of the Appalachian Mountain Club and served as a volunteer guide for AMC hikes in Connecticut and at the Greenwich Audubon Center. She hiked with her husband extensively throughout Europe, including Germany's Black Forest, Scotland, Switzerland, and Austria; and had a particular fondness for hiking the Cotswolds in England. She also joined guided trips in the mountains of Yugoslavia and New Zealand. With her dear sister, Louise, Suzanne traveled to Myanmar in her 80s, when it first reopened its long-closed borders and, even in her mid-80s, she was off to Alaska and the Galapagos.
Taking up competitive swimming when peers were nearing retirement, Suzanne became a decorated Masters swimmer, a sport she was devoted to until she hung up her goggles at 80 years old-but not before becoming a top nationally ranked long-distance swimmer and bringing home the gold and silver from events around the world.
As much as Suzanne loved the land and sea, her family was first in her heart. Suzanne is survived by her sister, Louise Bishop; daughter, Margaret Sommers and her husband Scott; and two sons, Anthony and his wife Sally, and Bruce and his wife Michele. Suzanne's grandchildren, in whom she instilled her delight for taking on challenges and for whom she served as a huge inspiration, are Sara and Kate Sommers, Duncan, William, Madeleine, and James Graham, and Clay, Marissa, and Nicole Graham.
A celebration of life will be held in September. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Greenwich Audubon Society, Appalachian Mountain Club, The Nature Conservancy, or Sierra Club.