Willie Ross School for the Deaf Dedicates Garden to Longtime Board Member

LONGMEADOW — Willie Ross School for the Deaf recently honored longtime board member Susan Conlon Phillips, who passed away in 2020, with a garden dedication in her memory. The garden is planted in the front of the school at 32 Norway St., Longmeadow.

Phillips served on the Willie Ross board for 32 years in various capacities, including as chairperson and treasurer. She was an attorney and city solicitor for the city of Westfield.

During her time on the board, Phillips oversaw the largest period of expansion in the school’s history, in both facilities and programs, and chaired the two building committees for the construction of the Cooley Administration Building and the Foster & Constance Gleason Furcolo Student Center, both significant additions to the Longmeadow campus. Phillips was honored by the school in 2015 at its annual gala and testimonial event.

According to Bert Carter, the school’s president and CEO, “there was no better champion for the Willie Ross School than Susan Phillips, and her loss has had a profound effect on all who were privileged to know her. We recognize her contributions to the school and the deaf community through this on-campus garden, reminding us of her spirit and dedication to the school.”