Susan J. Weeks, 65

GILMANTON — Susan Jane Weeks, formerly of Gilmanton and most recently of New Port Richie, Florida, died at New Port Richey Hospice House on April 26 of cancer. She was 65.

While living in the Lakes Region, she was employed at various manufacturing jobs, particularly involving electronic components where precise and meticulous assembly was required. She had also worked as a school bus driver in the Gilmanton area before moving to Florida seven years ago after initially surviving breast cancer. In Florida, she started worked as a school bus driver’s assistant on routes involving children with special needs. She felt empathy for her passengers, a sensitivity to their needs fostered by her own inability to hear stretching back to childhood. She was largely deaf, but taught herself to read lips effectively.

She had a passion for genealogical research and assisted in writing a book on the history of the Weeks family. She spent countless hours of free time confirming relatives and consulting original sources of information, including church records, burial sites and even Quaker Meeting records in the Sandwich Historical Society. She grew up in Northfield, attended schools in the Tilton-Northfield area, and then moved to Gilmanton where she lived for 40 years. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

She was the daughter of the late Burnham Munsey Weeks of Northfield and the late Patricia Bean Conway of Plymouth.

She is survived by her son Barry of Laconia, and daughter Samantha of New Port Richie; her sister Frances Weeks Howe of Center Sandwich; and her stepmother Rose Greenwood Weeks of Northfield.

A family graveside service will be held Tuesday, June 2, at 10 a.m. at Meredith Village Cemetery. Her sister Frances will lead the brief service following an outline developed with her sister prior to her death.

Dobies Funeral Home and Crematorium of New Port Richie handled initial arrangements.