Susan Bennett-Loftus, 79, of West Roxbury, MA passed peacefully with loving family by her side on July 20, 2018, after a brief but fierce complication from cancer.

Born in Clearfield, PA on May 24, 1939, she was the daughter of the late Homer Monroe Bennett and Mary Elizabeth (Velouci) Thompson. The middle child, she is survived by sisters Frances (Roberta) Matson of Ridgeville, SC; Judith Bennett of Port Matilda, PA; Joan Hullihen of Curwensville, PA; and brother Vincent Bennett, also of Curwensville. She was predeceased by a son, Robert Lynn Maines, in 2010.

Susan was the beloved wife of Robert J. Loftus with whom she had just celebrated 33 years of marriage; cherished mother of Kimberly Pelton and son-in-law James of East Brookfield, MA; and devoted grandmother to Ashley Pelton of Boston, MA.

An accomplished and passionate crafter, Susan will be remembered for creating “gifts from the heart” for her treasured friends, family, and many of the physicians and nurses who cared for her. She was an earnest and informed fan of the New England Patriots, never missing a game, and was able to break plays down with male co-workers with insight and ease, but her ultimate passion was cooking. A jar of peppers from Susan was a jar of love and not even a five-year battle with cancer could keep her from wanting to be in her kitchen.

Susan was employed as Comptroller by the Boy Scouts of America, Boston Minuteman Council, from 1989 until her retirement. Naturally irreplaceable, it was not long before they lured her back to work full time. Her colleagues were beloved friends – so much so, that she worked there a full 7 years past her initial retirement. She was good at what she did, and she was accomplished. Few knew that she was the very first licensed female film projectionist in the state of Pennsylvania, a skill she learned by working in the family theater business.

When her health began to fail, she faced death with courage, acceptance and care for the welfare of others before herself, a distinguishing trait even in her final days. Having spent a life giving, she requested only one gift in the end. Her last request for no public or private services and her desire for direct cremation were honored. It was not an equal exchange of gifts, but her kindness and generosity may yet be shared by and between each of us in loving memory.