At the end of October, Westport Island will say goodbye to its current tax collector when Susan Partelow moves to Ecuador. At the same time, the island will also lose its current treasurer, administrative assistant, deputy excise tax collector and town clerk because Partelow has been filling those roles as well. Her decision was made over the past year when she and her husband visited the country and decided that they wanted to live there.

Partelow moved to Westport Island with her husband, Jerry, in 1996 from Safety Harbor, Florida. For the past 13-1/2 years, she has worked for the town after first starting as tax collector and administrative assistant. As the years passed, the town added to her responsibilities.

Partelow graduated summa cum laude with master’s degrees in business and international business from the University of Tampa. She credits her parents, particularly her mother, with giving her the desire to attend college. After spending a summer working in a factory at the age of 14, Partelow’s mother, who came to the U.S. from Italy, asked her daughter, “Is this what you want to do for the rest of your life?”   Partelow’s response?  “I went to college.”

Partelow is excited about moving to Ecuador. She and her husband will be living in a home in the city of Cuenca which she describes as “very old-world Spanish” in style.  Among the benefits she looks forward to in Ecuador is the climate. “They have an eternal spring. The temperature stays between 55 and 75 degrees all year.”

The Partelows have sold their home on Westport Island. When asked about moving all of the things people inevitably accumulate, she said they have kept a few items that have sentimental value but the rest of their “stuff” was sold over the past summer. They are looking forward to traveling around South America and have the Galapagos Islands and Machu Picchu on their list of places to visit.

Looking back on her years at the town office, Partelow said she feels good about the way the town has come together over the years and that the people are “absolutely wonderful.” Although the couple have a building lot on the island just in case they want to come back, Partelow is looking forward to travel.

“If we get bored, we’ll just pack our bags and go somewhere else,” she said.