Sister Emilia Suchon
October 4, 1923 - March 14, 2013
Sister M. Emilia (Pauline) Suchon died on March 14, 2013, at Holy Family Manor in Bethlehem, Pa. She was 89 and in her 67th year of religious life.
Sister Emilia was born in Bučany, Slovakia, the youngest of seven children. As a child, she attended the Catholic grade school in Bučany and helped her mother at home, learning to prepare excellent meals.
With conditions becoming increasingly dangerous in what was then Czechoslovakia, she accepted her sister’s invitation to come live with her in the United States. In November 1938, she arrived in New York City and settled with her sister in Passaic, N.J. She was taught English by the Dominican Sisters at St. Mary School and later worked at a wool factory with her sister.
At 19, Sister Emilia felt called to the service of God. The pastor at St. Mary sent her to SS. Cyril and Methodius Convent in Clifton, N.J., where our sisters had a convent and taught in the parish school since 1929. She chose to join them and arrived in Pittsburgh in 1943 to begin her training as a School Sister of St. Francis, making final vows in 1951.
Sister Emilia’s ministry was unique in that, for most of her life, she served as a domestic sister. She participated in the mission of the congregation by preparing meals for the sisters who taught and, in this way, became a part of their service to the children. Sister ministered to our sisters in New Castle, Stowe and Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, and in Boonton and Guttenberg in New Jersey. During these years she continuously educated herself. Her dream of working with children came true when she was asked to help with kindergarten in Clifton and Boonton, preschool in Hellertown and the daycare at Monocacy Manor. Later she spent three years preparing meals for the Sisters at our Generalate in Rome.
Sister had a soft spot for stray kittens and an irrepressible spirit of generosity. “I remember how kind and generous she was with her time. I never heard an unkind word come from her,” remembered one of our sisters. “No matter when anyone came to the kitchen, she always stopped what she was doing, saying, ‘Come, honey, I give you something to eat.’”
She was a woman of prayer and many went to her with their prayer requests because they knew that most of her prayers were answered. “She seemed to be always mindful of God’s presence and wove her prayer throughout her work day,” said one sister. “It was obvious that she loved the Lord very much.”
She will always be remembered for her spirit of prayer, her patience and goodness to everyone. “Sister Emilia was one of the kindest, loving persons with whom I have ever lived,” remembered one sister. “She never spoke unkindly of anyone and saw only the good in others.”
She was preceded in death by her parents, Stefan Frantisek Suchon and Serafina (Chudy) Suchon; her sisters Cecilia Teplansky, Mary Michalik and Hedwiga Suchon; and her brothers Joseph, Jan and Frantisek. She is survived by her religious community and many relatives in the United States and Slovakia.
Sister is buried in St. Francis Cemetery at Monocacy Manor in Bethlehem, Pa.