Susan Elise Barry

Susan Elise (Hoer) Barry died on September 5, 2025 in Belchertown, Massachusetts after a yearlong battle with cancer. Elise was born on Christmas Day 1945 in Kansas City, Missouri. Her family moved to St. Albans, West Virginia when she was very young. She attended St. Francis of Assisi School (class of 1959) in St. Albans and Charleston Catholic High School (class of 1963) in Charleston, West Virginia. She attended Wheeling College in WV from 1963 to 1965. She then attended Anna Maria College in Paxton, MA and graduated in 1968. Elise and her husband Karl lived in Paxton, MA for over 34 years before moving to Belchertown in 2019.

Elise retired from Saint Gobain (Norton) Abrasives in Worcester, MA in 2004 after working over 34 years in the IT department. Elise would much rather have had a job where she could be outdoors. Her passion was nature and the outdoors and everything in it. When walking outside, it often took a long time to walk a short distance. She would stop to look at any interesting plant, herp (snake, frog, salamander), butterfly, moth or interesting bug. Among her favorite travels were to the Appalachians with friends to look for salamanders, the Rio Grande Valley, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Columbia, Canadian Rockies, Iceland, Italy and West Virginia with her husband. She has been a member of the Massachusetts Butterfly Club since 1993 and served as vice-president from 2003 to 2005 and treasurer from 2009 through 2024. Elise belonged and contributed to numerous nature and community organizations. She was a plant monitor for Native Plant Trust for over 10 years.

She leaves her loving husband of 47 years, Karl Barry in Belchertown, MA; her stepson Raymond Michael Barry, daughter-in-law Laurie Nunn, step-grandchildren Joseph Nunn, Matthew Nunn, David Nunn in Hubbardston, MA; stepson Keith Alan Barry, daughter-in-law Felicia Young in San Diego, CA; brother James Hoer and his wife Nancy in North Carolina, with deep gratitude for their help during her illness; brother Michael Hoer and his wife Diane Booth in New Jersey; sister Jane Tennant and her husband Steve in South Carolina; sister Elizabeth Herr and her husband Ralph Szur in California; sister Janice Herr in South Carolina.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Elise’s name to Cooley Dickinson VNA & Hospice, PO Box 329, Northampton, MA 01061-0329 or Massachusetts Butterfly Club, 53 Webber Rd, West Whately, MA 01039