Susan Fargo
A celebration of the life of State Senator Susan Fargo (née Cooley), who died on November 15 at the age of 77 following a period of declining health, will be held on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 3 p.m. at the First Parish Church (4 Bedford Rd., Lincoln). A private burial will be held at Lincoln Cemetery.
Susan was elected to eight consecutive terms in the Massachusetts State Senate, serving the 3rd Middlesex district (the 5th Middlesex district prior to 2003) from 1997–2012. She proudly wore out three pairs of shoes during her first campaign walking the nine towns in her district introducing herself to her constituents in order to win as a democrat in a traditionally Republican district.
As Senator, Susan served as chair of the Public Health Committee and co-chair of the Committee on Elderly Affairs. She was widely praised for her tireless work to ban smoking in the workplace, increase access to affordable housing, advance the circuit-breaker bill that provides tax credits to many elderly, and champion the health of women, including legislation that affirmed the rights of mothers to nurse their babies in public.
Whether an ally or opponent, Susan was a remarkable force, infusing all her interactions with a dry wit and keen observations. On Susan’s retirement in 2012, then Senate President Therese Murray called her a “powerful voice for the 3rd Middlesex District” and “a passionate and true leader on Beacon Hill who approaches every issue with the well-being of her constituents in mind.”
Prior to serving in the Senate, Susan served as a selectperson in the town of Lincoln, as editor in chief of the then-weekly Lincoln Journal, and, early in her career, as a middle school teacher in Newton.
Susan was born in Peoria, Ill., on August 27, 1942 to Dr. William Cooley, Jr. and Adelaide Nation Cooley. She attended Stephens College for two years, then graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Northwestern University (where she was also homecoming queen) in 1964 and received her Master of Arts in Teaching from the Harvard University School of Education in 1965. In 1994 she received a certificate in public leadership from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
She and her future husband Foster M. Fargo Jr. met and lived in Cambridge while both were in graduate school. They married in 1966 and moved to Newton during Susan’s teaching years and then settled in Lincoln, where they lived for over 45 years (he died last April after they were married for 52 years). Susan had an exceptional appreciation of beauty which she cultivated around her, most notably in her remarkable clothing, her home and in her active support of the arts. She was a consummate gift giver, matching recipients with perfect selections often cherished over a lifetime.
Susan leaves behind a devoted daughter, Amanda Reed Fargo and her grandson, Brady Foster Fargo of Lincoln; her sister Marcia Cooley Blevins of McMinnville, Ore.; her brother William Carl Cooley and his wife Seddon Reed Savage (Susan’s husband’s sister) of Concord, N.H.; and many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory may be made to The Trustees of Reservations, Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts, the First Parish in Lincoln, CareGroup Parmenter Home Care & Hospice (1 Arsenal Market Place, Watertown MA 02472), or Deaconess Abundant Life Services (80 Deaconess Rd., Concord MA 01742).
Obituary courtesy of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.
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