Steve Solomon
In Honor of Suzanne Mary (Schwartz) Solomon
May 7, 1934 – September 30, 2012
Suzanne was a devout Catholic, educated at Blessed Sacrament School and Seton High School in Baltimore. She eagerly anticipated each Sunday, looking forward to Mass with all the ceremony and song. She loved life at home and enjoyed the company of her mother, dad and sisters. Her dad would take the family on Sunday drives after church to the country or to explore famous landmarks of the surrounding area. Sometimes, when traveling, her mother would chant “To market, to market to buy a fat pig. Home again, home again jiggety jig.” While growing up in Baltimore, the family would travel on the B & O railroad back and forth to visit grand parents and relatives in Cincinnati, Ohio. Some family members moved to California, so she visited them there too. She developed a love for going places and seeing new sights. One of her favorite memories was riding the train, eating in the fancy dining car and being rocked to sleep in the sleeper car. She regarded it as traveling in high style, “just wonderful”.
Suzanne was a devoted daughter and sister. Being the oldest, she helped her parents and younger sisters as much as she could at home. She helped carry on family traditions during Thanksgiving, Christmas and other annual holidays by taking turns with her sisters hosting gatherings with all the relatives, lots of laughter and good food, including sauerkraut. She was an excellent cook, especially, with regard to baking desserts. Some of her specialties were Lemon-meringue pie, pecan pie, apple cobbler, Black Forest cake and Strawberry Angel-food cake. Her favorite canning activities involved making strawberry or tomato preserves.
Suzanne was a consummate housekeeper. Her home was always clean and well coordinated in its décor no matter how modest. Joanne Williams, one of her best friends during the early days of mother-hood and living in hot, dry, flat, dusty Texas commented that her kitchen was so clean you could eat off the floor. The two would meet in the afternoon letting their young children play together outside while they drank tea. When Steve or Harry got covered in dirt, she’d say, “Well, it’s time to get going!”
Suzanne was a loving mother. She raised Harry, Steve, Robbie, Trisha and Theresa in the Catholic tradition while trying to juggle many aspects of her life. She encouraged them to pursue scouting or sports and served as a Girl Scout leader while her daughters were involved in the program. She aspired to be a teacher when she was a young woman, but got married and had a family instead. She succeeded with becoming a teacher just by her constant encouragement telling them, “You can do it!” She exhibited great patience keeping them on the right path and out of trouble. She took them out frequently to tour the significant landmark areas of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD, such as museums as well as the countryside of Maryland and Virginia. She worked many jobs to help provide a good life. These included the Red Cross clinic at the Naval Academy Hospital, several jobs in retail with Hutzler’s in Glen Burnie, Hecht Co., Sign of The Whale and Garfinkel’s in Annapolis and the Midshipmen’s Store at U.S.N.A. She loved the ocean, steamed crabs and the Maryland way. Every summer she would take the kids on vacation to Ocean City or The Outer Banks of North Carolina. She also enjoyed touring Skyline Drive during the fall season.
Suzanne was a devoted friend and has been described, by those closest to her, as an Angel. She relied on life-long friend, Dorothy, a.k.a. Ginger, Baranauskas when she needed advice. One of her favorite films is “Gone with the Wind”, her favorite character being Scarlet O’Hara. Suzanne would quote phrases from the film such as “Oh, fiddle-dee-dee”, or “I’ll think about that tomorrow”, when life’s problems would become too complicated to understand. Ultimately, she counted on her faith, saying “God will provide”.
She was a proud, hard-working woman with a kind heart, quiet demeanor and extraordinary sense of style. Upon her