Suzanne Michels Obenshain, age 43, passed away on September 25, 2020, at her home in Waban, Massachusetts. She is survived by her husband, Andrew; three children, Thad (14), Noelle (12), and Zachary (9); parents William and Mary Michels; siblings William Michels and his wife Michelle, Meghan Michels Sherwood and her husband Dan, and Bryan Michels and his husband Gordon; and countless nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
Suzanne grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut surrounded by a large immediate and extended family who relished lively debate and cultivated strong and opinionated women. Suzanne was a determined child and once she set her mind to something there was no stopping her. Whether it was racing her older brother up a mountain at age five or deciding as a Freshman in high school that she would attend Dartmouth, confidence and determination were her defining attributes throughout her entire life.
Suzanne built a resume that could intimidate: a Summa Cum Laude distinction from Dartmouth College; an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School; and an investor at well-known private equity firms. In her personal life, she was generous with her friends, encouraging their successes, challenging them with refreshing directness, and earning their enduring loyalty, respect and love.
In 2001, she met her future husband at a wedding of mutual friends, and one became a team. A self-assured woman, she never did the dishes and was the primary breadwinner. As their family grew with the addition of three children between 2006 and 2011 she balanced a career and motherhood and encouraged her children to be as independent as she was.
In 2012, Suzanne and her family relocated to Paris with her husband’s job, fulfilling a lifelong dream to live overseas. She tucked away a nest egg for her family’s future and let her sense of adventure supersede her career ambitions. Throughout her seven years overseas, five in Paris followed by two in Zurich, Suzanne immersed herself in new cultural experiences and shared family adventures worth multiple lifetimes. During these adventures she instilled her love of travel, learning, skiing and hiking in her children. She delighted in the routines of expat life such as trips to the village markets and being corrected for poor French pronunciation by her children.
It didn’t take long after the family moved to Europe for others to recognize Suzanne’s extraordinary capabilities. Within one year she was invited onto the board of the American School of Paris, and within three she was the Chair. Shortly after the family moved to Switzerland, she accepted a position at an oncology-focused venture capital firm, a role with special meaning for her as she had just emerged from treatment for early stage breast cancer.
In February 2019 came the relapse that was never supposed to happen: Stage IV Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Within days of her diagnosis Suzanne dedicated herself to re-establishing her family in the U.S. and beating the unbeatable. She applied the same tenacity to her treatment and care as she did to her personal and professional life, supported by her family and a web of tight-knit friends from all stages of her life who came to her in her moment of need.
In nineteen years, Suzanne raised three incredible children and perfected her husband. She spent her last six months self-isolating with her family at her beloved Pleasant Lake in New Hampshire – an unexpected blessing that brought the already close family even closer. This time brought closure to years of shared adventures that are ending too soon. While she leaves her family financially secure, her greatest accomplishment was fulfilling her true life goal: to be remembered as a Good Daughter, Good Sister, Good Mother, Good Wife, and a Good Friend.
A small family funeral will be held on October 4 in Elkins, New Hampshire. A larger celebration of Suzanne’s life will be held next Fall where friends and family can share happy memories and good food. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes that any remembrances are in the form of donations to a fund established in her name at Dana Farber at http://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/suzannemichelsobenshain
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