Gordon and Diana Suckow
Diana Suckow of Lake Forest, a 54-year Lake Bluff resident and larger-than-life personality, passed away peacefully after a short illness on November 25th at age 89. She is survived by Gordon, her husband of 66 years; daughter Sue (David) Barkhausen of Lake Bluff, and son John (Deb) Suckow of Darien, Connecticut; and grandchildren Wicks (Mary Therese) and Billy Barkhausen and John and Sarah Suckow.
Born and reared in Ripon, Wisconsin, Diana graduated from Ripon College. She and Gordon were both high school and college classmates and were married upon their graduation in 1950. An accomplished musician at a young age as a singer, violinist, flutist, and pianist, Diana performed in several venues in Wisconsin.
In the Boston area, Diana enrolled in the acclaimed Longy School of Music and sang solos in the chorus that accompanied the Boston Symphony Orchestra as well as at many church and synagogue services. After Gordon began a long career with the Northern Trust, they settled in Lake Bluff in 1954.
Diana quickly became a familiar and popular figure in Lake Bluff – as a sun worshipper holding court at the beach where she took her children, served as treasurer of the Lake Bluff Yacht Club, and sailed with her family on their two Sunfishes to picnic along the shore; as a frequent substitute teacher where Middle School children affectionately dubbed her “Sergeant Suckow” for the combination of her discipline and humor; as an enthusiastic crew member on a Chicago-Mackinac race in which she bragged about finishing second to last; as a loyal fan at her grandsons’ baseball games, cheering them on with shouts of “Hubba, Hubba;” and as an avid bridge player with friends at home, at the Lake Bluff pool, at their second home in Green Valley, AZ, and the Tuesday afternoon duplicate group at the Lake Bluff Public Safety Building, where she honed the art of talking and playing competitively at the same time.
Throughout, music remained central in her life – singing in the Church of the Holy Spirit choir and then focusing seriously on the violin as a founding and 30-year member of the Lake Forest Symphony where she was the first concert mistress, while also entertaining smaller audiences with a trio and quartet, and later introducing her grandchildren to the beauty of classical music as a fixture picnicking with them on summer evenings on the knoll just north of the Ravinia pavilion.
Diana’s family expresses deep thanks for the professional and compassionate care provided by all the health care professionals at Lake Forest Hospital, Westmoreland Nursing Home, and the JourneyCare hospice organization. Plans are being made for an informal gathering to celebrate Diana’s life. Donations may be made to Ripon College.
Submitted by David Barkhausen and family