Susan Hollidge McFarland, 65, died on April 16, 2016 at her childhood home at the Ragged Mountain Fish and Game Club in Andover. Susan, a full-time resident of Chocowinity, North Carolina, was being treated for cancer at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.

Susan was the daughter of Col. Melvin Hollidge of Washington, DC and Alice Armistead Hollidge of Hampton, Virginia. She was born in Boston in 1950.

As the daughter of an Air Force Colonel, she lived in Texas as a young child where she developed an interest in speaking Spanish. After her father’s retirement, she lived initially on Cape Cod and then moved to Andover, where her parents permanently settled.

Susan graduated from the Northfield School for girls in Northfield, Massachusetts before attending the University of New Hampshire (UNH), where she graduated with a dual major in Spanish and Political Science.

Following UNH, Susan attended the Georgetown School of Foreign Service where, in 1976, she earned a Master’s Degree in Latin American Studies. As a graduate student at Georgetown, Susan met and subsequently married her husband of almost 40 years, Cliff McFarland.

Susan served as an editor for the Reserve Officer’s Association before assuming a position in the Pentagon as an editor for the Military Intelligence Digest, a daily publication produced for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Susan completed her career in the Department of Defense as a Country Analyst for the Defense Intelligence Agency.

After retirement in 2007, Susan and Cliff moved from Lake Ridge, Virginia to the Cypress Landing Community adjacent to the Pamlico River in Chocowinity, North Carolina.

Susan’s many interests included hiking, swimming, tennis, and gardening. She was an active participant in the Beaufort County, North Carolina Choral Society and was active in the Washington, North Carolina Animal Rescue League.

Susan’s devoted husband Cliff would like to express his heartfelt appreciation to the medical staffs for the wonderful care she received at Beaufort Vidant Hospital; the Marion Shepard Cancer Center in Washington, North Carolina; the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon; and the New London Hospital in New London.