A nice tribute to a former classmate. Suzanne Kathryn Sippola was a loving, giving woman who touched the lives of everyone who knew and loved her. Her life was a testament to her perseverance and serves as an inspiration to us all. Suzanne was able to achieve great happiness in a life dedicated to the simple foundation of family and friends. Suzanne was born on April 21, 1950, in St. Johns, Michigan, to Paul and Almeda (Dickenson) Nemanis. She and her older brother, William, grew up in Ovid. Suzanne attended the area grade school before graduating from Ovid-Elsie High School. She began work as a secretary for Bank of Lansing and met someone who would change her life. It was December of 1969 when Robert Sippola swept Suzanne off her feet. The young couple were deeply in love, and after a brief courtship, they were married on a beautiful summer day in June of 1970, in Ovid, Michigan. The newlyweds established their first home in the Lansing area. It was here that they joyfully welcomed the birth of their son, Paul, in 1975. Bob and Suzanne later moved to Grosse Pointe Park after being transferred with his job. The Sippola family grew to add one more child, Emily, in 1979. Suzanne was a wonderful, loving mother who took an active role in every phase of her children’s lives, including serving as PTO President at their elementary school. In 1987, the family relocated again, this time to Portage. After settling into their neighborhood, Suzanne became involved in her children’s activities—everything from helping with both children’s high school swim teams by organizing spaghetti dinners to giving support to their Boy and Girl Scout troops, often assisting on the scout camping. Suzanne was also an influential part of her community. She was active with the Junior League both in Detroit and Kalamazoo. As a committee chair in Kalamazoo, Suzanne was instrumental in putting together a three-year-long domestic violence awareness and education program, which earned the Junior League of Kalamazoo a national award. In 1978, Suzanne decided to strike out on her own and started Suzanne’s Typing Service, a one-woman operation. As technology evolved in the 1980’s, she changed the company’s name to Suzanne’s Word Processing. In the early 1990’s, she moved into a new field and began Suzanne’s Medical Transcription. Perhaps because Suzanne demanded excellence, what had started as a one-woman job operates today with six employees in the office and about twenty transcriptionists working from their homes. Suzanne provided the women of her community with the opportunity to balance work and family life. Five years ago, Bob left his job and joined his wife in business as well as in life. When not in the whirlwind of life’s busyness, Bob and Suzanne often enjoyed going up north to their home in Kaleva, Michigan, and both of their homes boasted beautiful flower gardens. Suzanne loved being up north in the quiet and serene setting, and she will be buried in Kaleva in the spring. Suzanne loved to cook big family dinners for the holidays when surrounded by her extended family. Each day, she filled her own home with wonderful aromas of homemade cooking. Her children especially favored her potato salad, tomato-basil pasta, and baked artichoke dip. Suzanne was particularly fond of tiramisu and other special desserts. For many years, she and Bob have enjoyed getting together with a special group of friends to play bridge. Of all the wonderful things in Suzanne’s life, spending time with her family and friends was the most important. She was overjoyed at the birth of her son’s daughter Hannah Suzanne in March 2003. She loved being a grandmother. After a courageous battle with cancer, Suzanne Kathryn Sippola died on February 13, 2004, at her home surrounded by her loved ones. Her father preceded her in death. Left behind to cherish her memories are her husband of 33 years, Bob Sippola; her children, Paul (Hope) Sippola of Grandville, and Emily (Brooke Kilyanek) Sippola of Ann Arbor; her granddaughter, Hannah Suzanne; her mother, Almeda Nemanis; her brother William (Pam) Nemanis; and several nieces and nephews. Burial will be in Maple Grove Cemetery in Kaleva, Michigan.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 19:45:08 +0000
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