Camilie A. Twiss

Camilie Aldonna (Piper) Twiss, Ph.D., 81, resident of Amherst, NH, died on February 7, 2024 at Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA after a brief illness.

She was born in Leominster, MA on June 10, 1942, the daughter of Alden Piper and Emilie (Richards) Piper. Camilie grew up on a small, multi-generational farm. After high school, she attended Burbank School of Nursing in Fitchburg, MA. After earning her RN, she worked at Children’s Hospital, before moving to Amherst, NH, where, in 1967, she and her new husband Leonard built the house in which they would raise a family.

Starting afresh at St Joseph’s hospital in Nashua, she worked her way up from the pediatric floors to teaching at the School of Nursing, from which she retired as Director and PhD., a career spanning over 45 years. She always put her whole heart into the task at hand and in whatever she was called to be or do.

Camilie has been instrumental to the work of the Associates of St. Marguerite D’Youville over the last 30 years, a charitable organization helping the poor in the heritage of Marguerite. She received the 18th Humanitarian of the Year Award in 2016. Camilie was always involved helping the less fortunate besides conscientiously fulfilling her many professional and family obligations.

She was committed to the Grange throughout her life, where she met her husband and in which she is a Golden Sheaf member, Camilie was the steam behind our local Grange’s Dictionary Project, which provides free dictionaries to third graders in five neighboring towns. Camilie was a member of Subordinate, Pomona, State and National Granges.

Camilie enjoyed gardening, flowers and potted plants, crocheting lap robes for the elderly, watercolor painting and wild birds.

She was predeceased by husband, Leonard, who died in 2005; her mother and stepfather, Emilie & Raymon Willard; two siblings George and JoEllen.

Family members include her daughter, Kathe Twiss and her companion, Sean Fanning of Amherst, NH; a son and daughter-in-law, Brian and Roberta Twiss, Amherst, NH; a grandson, Emmanuel Twiss and his partner Becca Schilke; three granddaughters, Genevieve Rose, Ava Cecil and Alayna Grace. She is also survived by Lori Twiss of Langdon, Danny Piper of Sterling, MA Barbara Harling of Temple and Debra Standley of Chelmsford, MA and many nieces and nephews. She is also survived by her childhood friends, Alta Lawn of Plymouth, ME, Janice Lanoue of Orange, MA and Nancy Hoerst of Boise, ID.

Memorial visiting hours will be held on Thursday, February 15th from 4:00-7:00pm in the Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford. A burial will be planned for the spring in Central Cemetery, New Ipswich, NH. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to the ASMY Foundation, 8 Pine Acres Road, Amherst, NH 03031 to carry on Camilie’s work.