Born Susan Ray to Margaret C. Ray and Vincent T. Ray in Buffalo, NY on April 26, 1933, Mrs. Dillon was reared in Buffalo and graduated from the Buffalo Seminary. Following graduation she attended Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY leaving at the end of her junior year to marry James M. Dillon in Buffalo on August 27, 1954. Their marriage, which lasted 68 years until her death on October 10, 2022, produced eight children, six of whom survive her. Her sons Edward V. Dillon and John T. Dillon preceded her in death. She is survived by her husband, her daughters Katharine D. Hufstader, Anne D. Haynes and Margaret D. Brabham (Timothy A.) and sons Timothy M. (Dawn F.), Brian D. (Lucy B.) and James M. Jr. (Patricia M.), as well as nine grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
An active communicant at Saints Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Church and later St. Benedict Catholic Church during her marriage in Buffalo, she also served as head of the Bishop’s Committee for childhood education. In addition to her work within Catholic Faith education, she served on the Board of the Maria M. Love Convalescent Fund heading that Board in later years.
In 1977, she moved to Providence, RI with her husband. That same year she was invested in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
During her years in Rhode Island she successively took on the role of President of the Red Bridge Republican Women’s Club and the Providence Handicraft Club. Her knitting talents were widely known.
In 1991, Mrs. Dillon was invested in the Order of Malta. She and her husband traveled to Lourdes, France with the annual pilgrimage of the Order some 17 times, heading it in 1995.
Mrs. Dillon experienced a considerable amount of travel and relocation as her husband’s military experience and professional changes found her living consecutively in Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Delaware, home to Buffalo, N. Y., Rhode Island, California and finally, Florida as well as summering in Maine.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, October 17, 2022 at 11:00 AM at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, South High Street, Bridgton, ME. Burial will follow in the Dillon Family Cemetery.
She will be long remembered for her kindness, gentleness and personal warmth.
Arrangements are being handled by Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home, Portland, Me.
