Claire Marie (Kent) Seusing

Claire Marie (Kent) Seusing, 91, passed away peacefully on March 28, 2025. She was born into a proud Irish family on October 17, 1933 in Weymouth, MA, daughter of Walter Kent and Catherine (Nicholson) Kent. Besides her loving parents, Claire was predeceased by her husband, John J. Seusing, Sr. with whom she shared a wonderful 36 years before he passed away unexpectedly in 1992.

Claire grew up in Braintree, MA, and graduated from Braintree High School. After graduating, she went on “her great adventure” and enlisted as a Navy WAVE, stationed in Washington, DC, in October 1952. She loved her time as a WAVE, a role in which she proudly served until 1955, and especially loved talking about working for Admiral Hyman G. Rickover. It was during her time in Washington, DC, that Claire met her future husband, John J. Seusing, Sr., who was also an enlisted Navy Yeoman.

After getting married in September 1955, Claire and John, Sr., were stationed in Weymouth, MA (where their first son John, Jr. was born), followed by Groton, CT, New Delhi, India (where their second son, Thomas was born), and they finally landed in Falls Church, VA, where she raised their family while her husband worked at the Pentagon.

In 1968, after her husband retired from the Navy, Claire moved with her family to Nashua, NH, where she began a long employment at Sears and Roebuck on Main Street. She regaled family with stories of lunches spent at Martha’s Sweet Shop, across from Sears, with her close friends and colleagues. After retiring in 1988, Claire and her husband began their next adventure and moved to Marco Island, FL, where they enjoyed many wonderful times with their family members and great friends. Claire lost the love of her life too early in 1992, and returned to live near family in Nashua where she returned to Sears and Roebuck until her final retirement in 2000.

After moving to The Meetinghouse at Riverfront (Manchester, NH) in 2016, Claire developed many wonderful and lasting connections with the outstanding staff and lovely residents. She thoroughly enjoyed the Meetinghouse community, including many gatherings and musical events, for nine lovely years before her passing.

In her earlier years, Claire loved traveling with close friends and family along with spending time with family and friends and many of her beloved pups throughout the years. She was an avid reader who especially loved mysteries and watching Murder She Wrote, NCIS, and Law and Order. Claire was also a prolific Scrabbler with her lifelong friend, Rita McCann. She found many new friends at the Nashua Senior Center where she became a master at Bridge. Quite the accomplished lyricist, Claire often made up and shared her own lyrics to many Irish standards!

Claire was predeceased by her sister Joanne McClung and her husband Jack McClung, her brother-in-law Joe Thomas, her sister-in-law Catherine (Seusing) Kent and her husband Robert Kane.

Claire is survived by “her boys Johnny and Tommy,” Son John J. Seusing, Jr (and wife Jennifer) and their children Christopher and Amy, along with three great-grandchildren Elle, Grant and Reid; Son Thomas W. Seusing (and long-time partner Barbara); sister Barbara (Kent) Thomas; many nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews.

During her last week of life, Claire was hospitalized (at Elliot Hospital in Manchester, where she received excellent care) for a brief illness and she both received as well as gave the greatest gift of time lovingly spent with her immediate family sharing a life’s worth of stories and memories, singing songs from her youth, showing her sassy Irish wit, and laughing through the tears before quietly and peacefully slipping away on Friday, March 28th. As Claire mentioned to her grandchildren during her last days, “I’ve lived a good long life.”

A private service will take place later in the Spring at the NH State Veterans Cemetery in Boscawen, where she will be interred with her husband, John Sr. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in the memory of Claire M. Seusing to the Elliot Hospital Meteora Hospice Suite, Fitch Unit, 1 Elliot Way, Manchester, NH, 03103. Note: The Meteora Hospice Suite is a wonderful space where Claire received the most amazing end-of-life palliative care.