Susan was born at Mary Fletcher Hospital in Burlington, Vt., on December 29, 1953, to Gladys S. Keelty and Peter R. Keelty of Shelburne, Vt. She died peacefully on June 21, 2023, at her lifelong home in Shelburne, after a nearly four-year stare-down with emphysema and lung cancer.
She attended Shelburne Nursery School and Shelburne Community School and graduated from Champlain Valley Union High School in 1971. She thrived in the days of small-town Shelburne and was kept on her toes by the antics of her older brothers. She was active in the Shelburne Girl Scouts, loved skiing and camping in the Green Mountains, and was an avid horsewoman, starting with the Charlotte Pony Club. She loved summer stays with her family at their Starr Farm Beach camp. She could knit, crochet and needlepoint to beat the band.
Susan was among the first women to earn an undergraduate degree at Saint Michael’s College, graduating in 1975. In 1978 she completed a master’s degree at the University of Vermont in cognitive studies. Having both a mother and a grandmother who taught English as a second language at St. Michael’s, she found herself doing the same as an adjunct professor for 20 years. She excelled at captivating students from around the world, developing innovative teaching materials, and designing and running summer programs bringing thousands of foreign students to St. Michael’s.
She married Tom Little on December 30, 1977, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral. She supported him through the remainder of his law school studies while completing her master’s degree. Later, she was the rock that anchored the family while Tom served in the Vermont House and never flinched during the storm and fury of the 2000 civil union session. She then selflessly gave up much to devote herself to caring for son Thomas during his powerful illnesses. Susan was fiercely and lovingly loyal to her family and close friends. You never doubted where she stood.
She chaired the Shelburne Nursery School board, served on the boards of the Ethan Allen Homestead and the Altrusa women’s service club, and was instrumental in statewide promotion of the adoption of Vermont’s seat belt law. She was active in her children’s activities, including converting the home property into a small horse farm.
Susan was predeceased by her dear son, Thomas Bayer Chauncey Little; her parents, Gladys Carolyn Sussdorff Keelty and Peter Raymond Keelty; her brothers Peter Phelps Keelty and Timothy Andrew Keelty; her nephew Dustin Keelty, and her brother-in-law James Edward Little.
She is survived by her husband, Thomas Arthur Little; her daughter Jessica Mead Little and her husband, Tyler Vincelette; her daughter Carolyn Phelps Little, her son, Oliver Thomas Crosby, and her husband, Daniel Paul Langevin; her brother Christopher Paul Keelty and his wife, Maureen Rago; her brother Leif David Keelty and his wife, Sally Goodrich Keelty; and her Little in-laws, William George Little and his wife, Mary Roy, and Margaret Elaine Little Cicchetti and her husband, Albert A. Cicchetti. She is also survived by her Keelty nieces and nephews, Amy, Shawn, David, Forrest, Paul, Shannon, Elizabeth and Jonathan; her Cicchetti nieces and nephew, Julia, Frank and Lisa; and her Keelty and Lawton cousins and their children and grandchildren.
Susan’s family is grateful for the compassionate care she received from the UVM Medical Center and UVM Home Health & Hospice, and for the attentive home health aides from Preferred Care at Home — especially Julie. Special thanks go to loyal family friend and health care navigator Thomas R. Chauncey, MD, of Seattle, Wash.
Visiting hours are June 29, 2023, 5 to 8 p.m., at the Corbin & Palmer Funeral Chapel, 209 Falls Rd., Shelburne. A celebration of Susan’s life will be held on June 30, 2023, 11 a.m., at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, 2 Cherry St., Burlington.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to UVM Home Health & Hospice and to UVM Medical Center to support employee well-being.
This article appears in The Québec Issue.