Susan Patricia Twitchell

Susan Patricia Twitchell of East Falmouth, a Latin teacher at Falmouth High School for 32 years, died on October 2, 2025. She was 66.

Born to Patricia (O'Brien) and Dr. Thomas Twitchell, she grew up in Wellesley and graduated in 1977 from Wellesley High School, where she was a member of the National Honor Society. She went on to earn a bachelor's degree in Latin from Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, before earning a master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She also studied Latin and ancient history at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Study and American Academy, both in Rome.

Her first teaching positions were at Boston Latin School and the Dublin School in New Hampshire. As a member of the Dublin School residential staff, she developed strategies to understand and respect her young students and deliver the best education to them. Those skills followed her throughout her teaching career.

Sue joined the World Languages Department at Falmouth High School in 1986. During a time when student interest in Latin was on the decline, she kept the program vibrant by relating the ancient language to contemporary life. Whether it was via government and law, medicine, or the "Gladiator" movie franchise, Sue helped students see Latin in their everyday lives. She even hosted an annual scavenger hunt around Falmouth that required students to find evidence of the language in stores, public buildings, and signs.

In 1998, she was one of 36 educators nationwide to receive funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to attend a four-week program at Tufts University, "Vergil and the Augustan Age."

In addition to her teaching duties, Sue was the advisor for the FHS Latin Club and served on the board of the Falmouth Scholarship Association for decades. She also was a longtime donor to the scholarship program. Sue loved teaching and her students and maintained lasting friendships with many of them. She retired in 2019.

Sue also enjoyed travel, reading, and entertaining friends in her home. For many years she ran in the Falmouth Road Race, and would refer to her commemorative mugs with pride. She treasured being a longtime member of the Falmouth Jewish Congregation's weekly torah study group, contributing her deep knowledge of ancient history and Catholicism, as well as Greek and Latin.

Sue was curious and kind, and a devoted friend, sister, and aunt. She laughed easily and often and will be greatly missed by all who knew her.

She is survived by her sister, Carol Gagosian, and her husband, Stephen, of Wellesley, and their children, Christina, Julia, and Robert Gagosian. She also leaves her sisters Mauyra Twitchell, of Natick, and Evelyn Twitchell, and her husband, Lance Esplund, of Milton, Pennsylvania.

A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.

Donations in Sue's name may be made to the Falmouth Scholarship Association at P.O. Box 369, Falmouth, MA 02541.