Suzanne Bessette

Suzanne “Tugi” Bessette died Friday, September 27, 2024, at Pines Health and Rehabilitation.

Born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, November 28, 1961, she was the devoted daughter of Normand Raymond Bessette and Barbara Edney Hill Bessette. She grew up in St. Johnsbury, spent 4 years in California, lived in central VT/NH for over 20 years, and then returned to St. Johnsbury to be closer to her mom.

After graduation from high school Tugi worked in retail and also served as the dispatcher for the St. Johnsbury Police Department. She began her career in the United States Postal Service in 1989 and served for 22 years, the majority of those years as a Postmaster in central Vermont.

She enjoyed trying new things and took her mom along on many of those adventures, even a ride in a hot-air balloon! She had a Bayliner boat and spent a lot of time on the water. She loved cooking and working on her crafts. Tugi wrote poetry and won the 1983 St. Johnsbury Maple Sugar Festival Poetry Contest, the 1986 Society of Poetry Contest, and in 2000 the International Library of Poetry Editor’s Choice Award.

Tugi is survived by three sisters: Celeste Bessette of Monroe, NH; Gisele Burrington and husband Brian of Kirby, VT; and Antonia “Toni” Morris and partner Eugene Dussault of Waterford, VT. She had many nieces and nephews and loved spending time with them and their children. She was predeceased by her dad and mom, Normand and Barbara Bessette; her sister, Anna Bessette; and her brother, Bruce Bessette.

Her sisters would like to thank all the folks at St. Johnsbury Community Health Center, Home Health, the ER and Med Surg at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital, and the loving LNA’s, Nurses, Doctors, and support staff at The Pines in Lyndonville who helped her as she approached the end of her life.

One of Tugi’s greatest loves was for cats. In recent years she volunteered at Kingdom Animal Shelter in St. Johnsbury as a worker. But she also spent many an afternoon giving each of the cats time to run free from their enclosures. She would be most pleased, if, in her memory, friends and family would donate to Kingdom Animal Shelter, 1161 Portland Street, St. Johnsbury, VT 05819.

There will be no visiting hours. A graveside service at Mt. Calvary Cemetery will take place on Friday, October 4, 2024, at 10:00 am.

Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at www.CaledoniaLifeServices.com