Suzanne McCarter Tifft, known to family and friends as Sue or "Nanny," died peacefully at home in Marion, Massachusetts, on June 24, 2025, surrounded by her loving sons and daughter-in-law. She was 93.

Born in New York City on January 18, 1932, Sue was the daughter of Thomas Nesbitt McCarter Jr. and Suzanne Pierson McCarter. She spent her early years between New York City, Moorestown, New Jersey, and Marion, Massachusetts. She graduated from Miss Porter's School in Connecticut in 1950 and started her first job "behind the scenes" at Steuben Glass on Fifth Avenue, which her father arranged so she could work discreetly-an arrangement she accepted with her trademark good humor and - a defining characteristic - a gentle defiance of social expectations.

She married Henry Neville Tifft Jr. in 1954 at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York City. Together they raised two sons, William and Philip, first in New York and later in New Canaan, Connecticut, before dividing their time between Marion and Vero Beach.

Sue had a deep love of travel that led her to a career as a travel agent, both professionally and later as an informal guide and advisor for friends. She was fiercely independent, endlessly curious, and famously hard to keep up with when exploring new places.

Family and friends remember Sue for her overwhelming energy, sense of fun, and deep love of people from all walks of life. She made friends everywhere she went-from country clubs to bars-and relished meeting people of every background. She was never happier than when talking with strangers at a restaurant bar, comparing travel stories, debating art or politics, and learning about others. Her favorite phrase, "That's different," was always offered as a compliment, reflecting her delight in the new and unusual.

She was devoted to keeping life interesting for those around her, organizing parties, stuffing piñatas with unexpected surprises, encouraging her grandchildren to gently bend the rules, often sending them out with the proviso "Don't do anything I would do,", and insisting that her family learn to sail, play tennis and cards, garden, dance, and appreciate theater-regardless of their natural talent.

Sue was predeceased by her husband Henry in 2006 and her brothers Thomas and John McCarter. She is survived by her sons William (Ellen Bruzelius) and Philip Tifft; her grandchildren Axel (Debra Kao) and Anna (Kyle Wulff); and her great grandchildren Aurora, Ajax and Ellen; and many friends whose lives were brightened by her warmth, humor, and adventurous spirit.

A memorial service will be held at Saint Gabriel's Episcopal Church in Marion at 4pm on August 1, 2025, followed by a celebration of life at the family home.

Sue's family asks that those wishing to honor her memory do so by making someone feel welcome, finding the joy in something "different," or planning a new adventure of their own. Donations to the Buzzards Bay Coalition honoring her deep love of Marion and the Bay are also encouraged.

Arrangements are with the Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Rd. (Rt. 6), Mattapoisett. For online guestbook, visit www.saundersdwyer.com.