Suzanne Marie Cusick

Suzanne passed away quietly at home, surrounded by family.

Suzanne was predeceased by her parents, Leonard F. and Barbara F. Junis. She is survived by her sister, Christine, her brothers Paul (Elda), Philip (Lucy), and Mark, her three children Charlene (Ricky), Dan (Kris), and Mike (Tammy), her four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

In lieu of formal services, the family will gather at a lake for a celebration of Suzanne's life. We will toast her from her favorite spot on the pontoon boat.

Because of her love of fresh flowers, the family encourages you to purchase a bouquet of your choice to display in your home as you think of her.

Suzanne was a smart, pretty redhead with a kind heart, adventurous spirit, and a fiery temper. A sassy, independent, strong-willed woman who took charge when needed, often without being asked. As first a military wife and then wife to a manager of a nationwide retail store, and mother of 3, she was adept at packing and moving a household across the ocean and across the USA. For family vacations, she navigated via paper maps and taught us we are never lost - we’re just sightseeing.

When we think of Suzanne we first think of books. Lots of books. In our family library that moved with us to every new home and the local librarians that quickly knew her by name. While she was not college educated, she certainly was self-educated. She knew where to find answers at the newspaper and library and when she studied an historical figure or event she would seek out different sources to verify details. It is from her we all learned to ask better questions, verify before stating something as fact, and to “go look it up” when we wondered out loud why a world event was occurring or why people acted a particular way.

Forever 29 years old, after she retired from working various administrative jobs, she hit the road with a Dodge Ram SUV and camper. She traveled the US, looking for a place to park for 6 months out of the year. She drove through the Appalachian mountain range and loved the lush forestry. She drove to New Mexico and loved the art and creativity in Santa Fe. She stayed a winter in Arizona, where she decided she was not a desert girl though she appreciated the art and food of the Tucson area. A lover of water, large and small lakes were her favorite areas to set up camp. She eventually found her “winter” place at FloriLow in mid-Florida. Where, according to her, the people were willing to go do things like golf, cruise, attend theater productions, play cards, party around the campfire.

A lover of food, she appreciated great cooking from restaurant chefs. At home she never saw a recipe that couldn’t be improved with her experimentation. We’re all thankful our taste buds survived the experience.

She loved color, appreciated great art and artists, introduced us to live theater and musicals, would sing along - off key - with Broadway musical CDs, and be the first to raise her hand if it sounded like something fun to do.

Being her children meant she was our biggest cheerleader and could be heard from the back row bleachers, during every graduation, and at every event whether it was appropriate to cheer or not. Dubbed a Detroit City Mama by her son-in-law, her Motown roots showed up to defend us, motivate us to tackle new challenges, help us through tragedies and illnesses. She brought a practical steadiness to our family and treated paper cuts, broken bones, and broken hearts with the same direct approach…clean it, cover it, tell you to get on with it.

There are many memories of family outings gone awry, meeting fun and interesting people, trying new foods, getting lost as we learned our way around a new town or city. We love her and miss her and wish her well as she joins her parents and family on the other side.