Suzanne Weese Drucker Frank

In Memory of Suzanne Weese Drucker Frank

Blessed with a long and healthy life, Sue Weese Drucker Frank died peacefully of old age at her home in Wilmette, Illinois on the morning of November 19, 2023, aged 100. Befitting Sue's love of nature and the outdoors, the sky was as blue as the color of her beloved Glen Lake and the sunshine was streaming through her bedroom windows when she departed.

Born in Evanston, Illinois on July 17, 1923, to Harry E. Weese and Marjorie (Mohr) Weese, Sue grew up during the Great Depression in Kenilworth, Illinois where she attended the Joseph Sears school. Her years at New Trier High School, where she played Titania to Charlton Heston's Oberon in the school play, witnessed the lead up to world war. Fortunate for a woman of her era to have the opportunity to attend college, Sue is quoted by her father in his memoir as saying, "her specifications for the next place to study were a school, not too large, not co-educational, near Boston and where she knew no-one." Her decision was Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. Her father feared the east coast might be bombed so after two years at Wheaton, Sue returned home to attend Northwestern University for a year but returned to Wheaton the following year to graduate in 1945.

In 1946, upon his return from serving in the Pacific, Sue married her high school sweetheart, Bob Drucker. They moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where they lived while Bob attended Business and Law School. Daughter Ann ('48) and Suzanne "Susie" ('49) were born there before the growing family returned to the Chicago area where they built their home designed by Sue's brothers, Ben and Harry, in Wilmette. Three more children followed - William "Bill" ('51), Sally ('54) and Harry ('57).

In the ensuing years, Sue dedicated herself to rearing her children and supporting the family's numerous activities which included canoe trips in the Quetico Provincial Park, summer visits to her parent's cabin on Glen Lake in Michigan, the purchase and renovation of a farm and farmhouse near Galena, IL, and all other things that made domestic life warm and enjoyable. She also pursued her lifelong passion of watercolor painting, memorializing the many scenes she held dear.

In 1997, several years after her first marriage ended in divorce, Sue married Halbert ("Hal") Frank, the widower of Sue's friend and college roommate. Sue and Hal enjoyed 11 years of marriage, spending summers at Glen Lake, travelling around the world, and enjoying time with friends and family.

Healthy living, a positive attitude, and good fortune combined to bless Sue with a long and robust life filled with adventure. Always ready at the drop of a hat to get on a plane and join friends or family on a trip, Sue adventured around the world with her children, Hal and friends. She was a thoughtful and caring person, loyal to her friends, always gracious and graceful. She was a talented artist and avid reader. A steadfast advocate for the environment, she was a keen observer of all things in nature, especially birds. She spent every summer, including the summer of 2023, at her rustic cottage on Glen Lake where she was unable to resist the temptation to take a daily swim which she did every year except this past summer. Always cheerful, she smiled her way through 100 years.

Sue was a deeply beloved grandmother of 15, step-grandmother to 1, and great-grandmother to 22. Preceded in death by her parents, two husbands and siblings, Harry M. Weese, Jane (Weese) Welch, and John Weese, Sue is survived by her brother Ben (Cindy) Weese, her sister-in-law Margaret "Migit" Drucker, children Ann (Rick) Gleason, Susie (Jay) Brown, Bill (Denise) Drucker, Sally Drucker, Harry (Beth) Drucker, and step-child Edmund (Jo Su) Frank and, her grandchildren and step-grandchild, and great-grandchildren.

For those wishing to honor Sue's memory, donations may be made to the Leelanau Conservancy at 105 1st St, Leland, MI 49654 - online at https://leelanauconservancy.org/donate/ or to the Glen Arbor Arts Center, 6031 South Lake Street, PO Box 305, Glen Arbor, Michigan 49636 - online at https://glenarborart.org/support/donate/