Susan Gyasi-Twum Flinn

MILLERTON — Susan Gyasi-Twum Flinn, of Norwalk, Conn., passed away Dec. 9, 2020, at Stamford Hospital following a courageous fight with breast cancer. She was born in Sharon, on June 21, 1961, and was one of three children born to Russell Flinn Sr. and Shirley (Meissner) Flinn.

Susan grew up in Millerton, where she attended elementary school and ultimately graduated from Webutuck Central School in Amenia in 1979. Susan pursued further educational studies and graduated with a BBA degree in accounting from Western Connecticut in Danbury, Conn., in 1983. She began her professional career in 1984 as a cash administrator at ABB in White Plains, N.Y. She worked at ABB for three years before accepting a position at Fortune Brands (formerly American Brands) in Old Greenwich in 1987. Susan worked at Fortune Brands for over nine years, taking on key roles in Cash Management, Corporate Finance and Corporate Development during her tenure. She left Fortune Brands in 1997 as a Senior Financial Analyst to join Blyth Inc, in Greenwich, where she managed the company’s strategic planning process and investor relations. Susan spent nearly 20 years at Blyth and left in 2016, as the company relocated to Massachusetts. At that point, she was a Senior Manager. 

She moved away from Corporate America to accept a Financial Analyst role at a nonprofit organization (Inspirica) in Stamford, Conn., in 2016. Susan really enjoyed her work at Inspirica as she was actively involved in managing the finances for the company’s homeless shelters. She worked at Inspirica until earlier this year, when her cancer made her unable to work.

Susan’s true passion was her love of animals, particularly dogs. In this regard, she volunteered at PAWS (Pet Animal Welfare Society) in Norwalk, starting in 1995. She rose to be the president of the organization and a member of the Board of Directors shortly after 2000. More recently, she adopted a rescue dog (Lucky), whom she loved dearly. 

Susan also had a passion for family. She was particularly close with her parents, her two siblings and her nephews and nieces. They would all meet, particularly at Thanksgiving and Christmas, to celebrate as a family. She met her husband-to-be, Kwab Gyasi-Twum in 1988, when she worked at Fortune Brands and Kwab worked at a subsidiary company (American Tobacco). The couple traveled very frequently, going to such getaways as Saint Croix, Jamaica, Aruba, Puerto Rico, Saint Maarten and the Bahamas. They finally decided to “settle down” with marriage in June 2001 but added a travel component with a private wedding ceremony on the “Big Island” in Hawaii. The couple was blessed with a son, Nicholas, in February 2005. Susan was totally devoted to her son and put in a great deal of effort to get him to basketball and football practices and games through the years.

Susan is survived by her devoted husband of 19 years, Kwab Gyasi-Twum; her beloved son, Nicholas Gyasi-Twum; her father, Russell Flinn Sr., and her mother, Shirley Flinn; her sister, Denise Lamont and husband, Kenneth Sr.; her brother, Russell Flinn Jr. and wife Donna; her uncle Keith Flinn and wife Ci; her niece, Kelly Roger and husband Keith; her nephew, Kenneth Lamont Jr. and wife Christina; her nieces, Alicia Bishop and husband Jason and Allison Flinn; her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Mr. Kwaku and Mrs. Nancy Gyasi-Twum (both predeceased), her sister-in-law, Gladys Asare and husband Kwabena (predeceased); her sister-in-law, Eileen Gyasi-Twum; her sister-in-law, Betty Demby and husband, Joe; and her brother-in-law, Kofi Gyasi-Twum and wife, Essie. And, we can’t forget Lucky, who really misses her Mommy.

A celebration of Susan’s life was held Dec. 19 at the Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home & Crematory in Stamford.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to either PAWS (Pet Animal Welfare Society), 504 Main Ave., Norwalk, CT 06851; or Inspirica, Inc., 141 Franklin St., Stamford, CT 06901; or the Bennett Cancer Center, Stamford Hospital, One Hospital Plaza, Stamford, CT 06904.

To leave messages of sympathy and condolence for Susan’s family go to her obituary posted on www.cognetta.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NicholasFCognettaFuneralHomeCrematory.

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