Suzanne Chambliss Neil was born in New York City April 18, 1946, the first child of George Franklin Neil and Carabelle Blake Neil. Her childhood was spent in New York City, and later in Leonia, N.J. The daughter of two Juilliard-trained vocal musicians, she developed an early interest in both choral and instrumental music.

She attended high school at The Dwight School for Girls in Englewood, N.J., and graduated in 1967 from Smith College with a Bachelor of Arts in East African Government. Immediately after college, she worked in a refugee camp in Zambia, Africa, and returned to work for the American Friends Service in New York. After her marriage to Philip Sheridan, she worked at The Institute for International Education in Washington, D.C.

In 1984, recently divorced, she made the decision to attend graduate school to pursue a degree in political science at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she completed her Doctorate. During these years, she continued her choral practice and study of the cello.

In 2003 she moved to Maine and worked in the Greenfire Retreat, and taught political science at Southern Maine Community College in Bath, the University of Maine at Rockland and the Maine State Prison in Thomaston.

Throughout her adult life she sang in choruses, including the DownEast Singers, volunteered in service organizations, and wrote both poetry and prose. A true intellectual, she had a curiosity and exuberance that were infectious.

She is missed greatly by her partner, Constance Chandler-Ward; her sister, Holly St. John Bergon; brother-in law, Frank Bergon; her extended family; and many friends and colleagues.

A memorial gathering will be held at the Jackson Memorial Library, 38 Main St. in Tenants Harbor, on Jan. 5 at 1 p.m.

The staff of Hall Funeral Home in Thomaston is caring for the family.