SUCKAU, ELEONORE - Went to be with her Lord & Savior on Jan. 8, 2015 at Upper Canada Lodge in her 89th year. Her given name was Eleonore, but her closest friends called her “Lorrie” and most knew her as “Laure”. To Ruth, Mark & Julia, she was referred to as “angel” She was born on Apr. 1, 1926 to Adolf and Maria Bartel in a little Polish village called Deutsch Kasun, near Warsaw, and spent her early years, along with her older brothers Max (deceased) and Andreas (deceased), and younger sister Hilda, helping her mother take care of the family farm. The coming of the war in 1939 overturned their lives and in 1944, she fled with her family to western Germany. After a number of post-war years in a refugee camp, she and the rest of her family were sponsored in 1949 for emigration to Canada by the Mennonite Central Committee. In return, she worked on a farm in Saskatchewan for a year before moving to Niagara-on-the-Lake in 1950. For many years, she supported herself and her mother as a self-employed painter and decorator. In 1968, she married Lothar Suckau, a skilled carpenter. They spent many years working as sub-contractors together. She was also a talented seamstress and worked for some years in the wardrobe department at the Shaw Festival. Her many creative projects, such as embroidery, needlepoint, and knitting, were a big part of her life. Lothar predeceased her in 2009. She was fiercely independent her entire life, until her health began to fail three years ago.As well as her many friends, her memory is fondly cherished by her surviving family: sister Hilda Bartel (Vancouver, BC), sister-in-law Maria Bartel, nephews Dietrich, wife Ruth, children Mark and Julia (Raleigh, NC), Phil Bartel and family (Oakville), Eric Bartel (Atlanta, GA) and niece Ruth Bartel (Toronto). A heartfelt thanks is extended to the staff at Niagara-on-the-Lake Hospital, Pleasant Manor and Upper Canada Lodge, who created an environment of love and compassion when she could no longer live at home. Love and many thanks to her dear doctors: Dr. Nolan, Dr. Robertson-Woods and especially Dr. Jennifer Frendo. Dr. Frendo became a cherished friend to Eleonore.
Visitation will be on held on Tuesday, Jan. 13 at 9:30 am at Niagara United Mennonite Church, Virgil, followed by the funeral service at 10:30 am with interment following at Niagara Lakeshore Cemetery. For those who wish, memorial donations may be made to a charity of choice. Memories, photos and condolences may be shared at www.morganfuneral.com
“I love you, My Angel”