Suzanne Henderson

Suzanne Charlotte Henderson (Beaugard), 93 years old, passed away peacefully August 6, 2025, in Pompton Plains, New Jersey.
Born and raised in northern New Jersey, Suzanne spent most of her life in Delaware and Maryland. She was a revered human being who made dear friends everywhere she lived and traveled. Her ability to show love and endearment to all will always be remembered. Suzanne took in life with quiet gusto. She relished liverwurst and lox, dark chocolate, graham crackers, and peanut butter. For decades she loved to cook. Lamb chops were a dinner favorite as was an occasional good bourbon afterwards. To the delight of her children and grandchildren she puffed on a cigar at New Year's and enjoyed the smell of pipe tobacco, which reminded her of her father.
Suzanne had a great sense of humor, the more irreverent the better. She had the ability to make people laugh and feel tremendously loved and heard, not least her children's friends for whom she kept an open door. Her tastes were wonderfully eclectic – hardware store aisles, good books, sports, classical music, public radio and TV, Barbra Streisand, Simon and Garfunkel, and Broadway musicals, with a secret desire to be on stage herself. Suzanne was a devout Catholic who gave her time freely to church bake sales, pancake breakfasts, and Christmas bazaars. For many years she loved weaving, gardening, and antiquing, and then refurbishing her finds. She was also a serious beachcomber, looking for just the right stones, especially on the Wellfleet beaches of Cape Cod. Above all, she loved – and loved with uncommon wisdom – her children and husband, with whom she enjoyed countless life adventures.
Suzanne was born March 1, 1932, in Teaneck, New Jersey. Early in life, she was a scrub nurse in the operating rooms of Holy Name Hospital, where she was born. She loved that job and did it well. After marrying and while raising her children she returned several times to the healthcare field. Her last years were spent in a retirement community in Pompton Plains, where she again enjoyed a wonderful social life and, finally, the love and boundless compassion of her caregivers and staff in Mountainview Gardens, along with Grace Hospice.
Suzanne is preceded in death by her husband Dr. George Henderson and three brothers, Peter, John, and Henri. She is survived by her brother Edouard Beaugard (W-Carol), sister Claire Heller (Beaugard), daughter Suzanne Spano (Henderson) (H-Sam), sons George Henderson (W-Rachel Breen) and Thomas Henderson, and eight grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Donations in Suzanne's honor can be made to: Alzheimer's New Jersey (alznj.org) Grace Healthcare Services (https://www.gracehcs.com/programs/donation-program/).