Susan Gutchess

Susan Gutchess, conservationist, highly regarded expert in planned giving, and nexus of lifetime friendships, died on August 20, 2025 in Lebanon, NH, after a short illness.

Born November 15, 1949, in Washington, DC, to Jocelyn Fleming Gutchess and Franklin J. Gutchess, Ms. Gutchess grew up in Hollin Hills, in Alexandria, VA. She attended Groveton Elementary School, National Cathedral School, and Smith College, receiving a bachelor's degree in German language and literature in 1972.

Ms. Gutchess was in the third class of Yale's innovative School of Organization and Management, which emphasized both advancing an organization's objectives and contributing to society. After graduating, she joined Coopers & Lybrand, an accounting and consulting firm, and spent six months in Hong Kong compiling a feasibility study for the new international airport.

Inspired by Yale's emphasis on public service, Ms. Gutchess soon moved to the nonprofit sector, accepting a position at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, where she created the Gifts of Heritage Program, generating a significant new fundraising source. In 2002, she followed a passion for conservation to The Nature Conservancy, to serve as Director of Gift Administration. Ms. Gutchess set high standards as a boss and was a generous mentor who took pride in her employees' growth and successes.

She was an avid traveler. Along with her wife, Helen Ingalls, she trekked across remote parts of Mongolia, hiked Morocco's Atlas Mountains, and circumnavigated Peru's third highest peak, Ausangate. Intrigued by high-altitude climbing, she summited Mount Shasta in California (14,162 feet) and Cotopaxi in Ecuador (19,347 feet).

Although Ms. Gutchess enjoyed whitewater canoeing and playing squash and tennis as a young woman, as she matured, she developed an enthusiasm for sports such as football and basketball from the comfort of her armchair. She shared spirited and often wry comments and opinions by text with like-minded enthusiasts. From a young age, she loved to swim and, in later years, her greatest joy was swimming regularly to a distant buoy in Squam Lake, N.H., near her home.

Her enthusiasm for physical sports was surpassed only by her intellectual enjoyment of reading. She was the anchor of her book groups in Washington, DC, and Sandwich, NH, and could always offer up a riveting title culled from her voracious reading of classic and contemporary works.

Ms. Gutchess was a connoisseur of people, making a game of guessing the professions of fellow travelers as she awaited departing airplane flights. Most of all, she excelled at making and retaining friends throughout her life—not just friends from school and her professional life, but also those met during summers at her beloved Camp Mudjekeewis, in Maine.

Ms. Gutchess was highly sought after as a board member for nonprofit organizations. She took great pride in her board work for organizations that focused on conservation and social services, including the Squam Lakes Conservation Society, the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, the Bear Camp Center, and the Interlakes Community Caregivers of Carroll County. In Washington, DC, she served on the board of Bright Beginnings, Inc., and spent seven years on the board of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington DC, two as board chair.

In the words of a beloved nephew, Ms. Gutchess "lived a full-throated life." She will always be remembered for her bright mind, quick wit, mischievous nature, and deep love for family and friends.

Ms. Gutchess is survived by her wife, Helen Ingalls, her close companion for 36 years. The two were married in 2012. She is also survived by her two sisters-in-law, Madeleine Henderson and Zoe Ingalls; three brothers-in-law, Philip Henderson, Robin Ingalls, and Richard LeBaron; one niece and four nephews; and cousins Selby McPhee and Elizabeth Wainwright.

Remembrance events will be held later in Sandwich, N.H., and Washington, DC.

Donations in memory of Susan Gutchess would be welcome at Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC, the Bearcamp Center for Sustainable Community, the Squam Lakes Conservation Society, the Lakes Region Conservation Trust, and the Jack Byrne Center for Palliative & Hospice Care.