Suzanne Jean Noonan

08/18/1934 - 07/20/2025

Suzanne Jean Murray Noonan, of Washington, DC, formerly of Toronto, Canada, peacefully passed away surrounded by her children on July 20, 2025.
Predeceased by her beloved husband Bill, she is survived by her children and their spouses, Elizabeth Noonan Sobrino (Ray), Jim Noonan (Chrys Bullard), Nancy Noonan Powell (Chris), and Michael Noonan (Diane Franchi). She also leaves her seven beautiful granddaughters, Jessica (Stephen Paparo), Alexandra (Jacob Gofman), and Patricia Sobrino, Anna Sumner Noonan, Madelyn, Fiona, and Claire Powell, her two great-grandsons, Sebastian Sobrino-Gofman and Cameron Paparo, her sister Lyn Callahan, her sister-in-law Carol Murray, and their families in Canada. And not to be forgotten, her AFS exchange student son Stuart Ramson (Anne) of New Zealand.
Resolute in her marriage to Bill, she shepherded the family through many homes and multiple countries over the course of their nearly sixty-year partnership, finally planting roots in the District of Columbia's Cathedral Heights neighborhood. There she stayed longer than any other, over thirty years, leaving regularly to fulfill their shared love of travel.
Suzanne's devotion to her family was followed closely by her leadership in her professional and charitable efforts, all characterized by intellect, wit, and grace. After graduation from the University of Toronto, she started work at Maclean's magazine, beginning a lengthy career in writing and editing. She later added development to those skills, working on behalf of children, education, and young women, at home and abroad. After arriving in the District, she applied herself tirelessly on behalf of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown, especially its beautiful Chapel of St. Ignatius and gardens, and the History Committee's work on the role of slavery, segregation, and race in the parish. She also supported the arts, including the Smithsonian Women's Committee and its annual craft show and the Faces of the Fallen memorial project for those lost in Afghanistan and Iraq. She loved the theater and literature, music and tennis, her morning walks, and shared those and many, many other interests with her countless friends around the globe. Since the loss of Bill, though, she most loved her annual sojourn to our beautiful former home of Barbados, where she could sit with family and friends and revel in the daily glory of a sunset like no other. A loving, loved, and remarkable woman; a true force.
A Memorial Mass will be held Friday, September 26, at twelve o'clock, Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Georgetown. Guests will be received beginning at half past eleven o'clock. A reception to follow at Kenwood Country Club, Bethesda, Maryland. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Father McKenna Center of Washington, DC.