In 1953, Dwight D. Eisenhower was President of the United States. An expedition led by Sir Edmund Hillary was the first to reach the “unreachable” summit of Mount Everest. The citizens of Baltimore, Maryland were jubilant when the St. Louis Browns moved to town and the Baltimore Orioles were born.

That year, a young couple in Baltimore was even more excited about a birth of their own. On December 10, 1953, Henri and Barbara Enfroy celebrated the arrival of their first child, a beautiful daughter named Suzanne Nicole. Henri was in medical school at the time of his daughter’s birth. The following year, Henri moved his little family to Philadelphia for his internship. After his intern year, the family moved on to Detroit where Suzanne grew up. She was to be followed into the Enfroy family by two younger brothers, Paul and Marc, whom she loved very much.

From earliest childhood, Suzanne loved the water and was fearless around it. Beginning in the 1960s, the family took summer vacations at Crystal Lake, where they enjoyed swimming, water skiing and fishing. Impressed by her indomitable spirit, her paternal grandfather, Louis Enfroy, gave her the endearing nickname Le Petit General. One of Suzanne’s favorite and most amusing childhood phrases was, “You’re supposed to not to do that.”

In 1971, Suzanne graduated from Mumford High School and began working as a medical assistant at her father’s private practice. A few years later, on March 31, 1974, some friends introduced Suzanne to Richard Whiting at a square dance. It wasn’t long before Richard asked Suzanne to marry him. They became engaged on July 2, 1974, and were married October 12, 1974. After a honeymoon trip to Panama City, Florida, the young couple settled in Royal Oak, Michigan.

In 1976, volunteer work for the Watchtower Society brought Richard and Suzanne to New York City for a year, followed by 5 years in Sunnyvale, California, near Richard’s hometown of Santa Clara. While in California, Suzanne was employed by Memorex. In 1982, the Whitings returned to Michigan and settled in Birmingham where Suzanne took a job with Burroughs Corporation. After eleven years in Birmingham, the Whitings moved to West Bloomfield and Suzanne moved on to Quest Diagnostics in Farmington Hills.

She loved literature and was an avid reader. It was not at all unusual for Suzanne to have at least a dozen books checked out from the library at any one time. She especially loved mysteries. She collected dozens of teddy bears and named each one. She also expressed her creativity through beautiful needlepoint. In later years, she applied her skills to helping Project Linus by crocheting many blankets for hospitalized children. Cooking was also one of Suzanne’s many talents. She was well known for her fabulous dishes, including her signature Red Pepper Dip, Chocolate Truffles, Chicken Marbella and Dutch Baby Pancakes. Dark chocolate and strong coffee were two of her favorite indulgences.

Suzanne loved to travel. Her favorite places to visit were The Muir Woods and Carmel, California, where she soaked in the serenity of the ocean and the redwood forests. A highlight of her travels was the trip that she and Richard took with her parents in 1985, touring France, Italy and Switzerland. Of course, the Louvre was Suzanne’s favorite destination. On trips to see family, she loved bringing gifts to her nieces and nephews.

The arts always played an important role in Suzanne’s life. She loved music and she studied the piano. She was the granddaughter of Country Music pioneer William Bradley Kincaid, who performed at the Grand Ole Opry and whose radio program on WLS Chicago was called the National Barn Dance. Her own taste in music was diverse, ranging from classical to new age to rock.

It was pursuit of the arts that eventually drew Suzanne away from the career world. She quit her job at Quest Diagnostics and developed a serious interest in faux finishing, adorning many rooms in her home. After mastering this art, she turned her attention to watercolor and acrylic painting. She became a member of the Farmington Hills Artist Club and made many close and supportive friends in her art classes. Painting became Suzanne’s passion for the rest of her life. Less than two weeks before her passing, she started her final, unfinished work, a still life of tulips in watercolor.

Suzanne and Richard enjoyed thirty-one wonderful years of marriage. Both felt their relationship to be a genuine blessing. They built many family traditions, such as sharing coffee, little intimacies, and spiritual discussions every Saturday morning, nurturing their deep love for one another.

Suzanne personified grace and courage. Even during her final illness, she had a profound influence on all those she met. She was a favorite patient among the nurses, and despite the frequent staff rotations, was able to remember all of their names. Suzanne put everyone around her at ease. She calmly listened to others and inquired about their lives with genuine interest. She did not call attention to her own failing health, and above all, she kept her dignity.

Her grace, courage, beauty and love are a lasting legacy to her family and friends.