Leonora Suppan-Gehrich

QUINCY -- Leonora Suppan-Gehrich passed away Oct. 15, 2015, at Blessing Hospital, Quincy. She died of complications arising from liver cancer, which she bravely fought for more than six years.

An only child, Mrs. Suppan-Gehrich was born in 1935 to a musical family in Vienna, Austria. Her mother, Josephine Suppan-Rodler, was a concert pianist and later a beloved high school music teacher. Her father, Joseph Suppan, an operatic baritone, performed on stages throughout Europe and continued to sing concerts into his mid-80s, allowing him to share his love of music with Quincy audiences.

Mrs. Suppan-Gehrich began piano lessons at age 5, and music became the defining passion of her life. After being displaced in World War II, her family settled in Leoben, Austria, where she attended the Bundesreal Gymnasium and developed her talents under her mother's tutelage. She was accepted at the Vienna Academy of Music, where she studied under renowned Austrian pianist Professor Kirschbaumer.

After graduation from the academy in 1959, she continued her studies at the conservatory of Warsaw, Poland, where she immersed herself in the music of Chopin and placed second in the International Chopin Piano Competition. She furthered her musical studies in Venice, at the Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello prior to accepting the American Association of University Women sponsorship to come to the United States in 1962.

She studied at Indiana University under Menahem Pressler and became his assistant in 1963 after having received first prize at the University of Indiana's Piano Competition. In April 1964, she had a very successful New York debut in Carnegie Hall.

In 1964, upon completing her master's degree of music performance at Indiana University, Mrs. Leonora Suppan-Gehrich accepted a professorship at Western Illinois University in Macomb. Thanks to the German-speaking community in central Illinois, she met, fell in love and married Dr. Guenter Gehrich and settled in Quincy. Following teaching interludes at MacMurray College in Jacksonville and Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo., she was awarded the status of artist-in-residence at Quincy University in 1976. She remained in this position until her retirement in the summer of 2015.

Prior to settling in Quincy, she had played concerts in Austria, Germany, Poland, Italy, France, Portugal, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Holland, England, Canada and across the U.S. She made recordings for the Austrian Radio Stations in Vienna and Graz, the Polish Radio Stations in Warsaw and Krakow, the Portuguese Radio, Lisbon, the B.B.C, London, Radiodiffusion Francaise Paris, Rias Berlin, Sender Freies Berlin, the "Hessische Rundfunk" Frankfurt and the "West-deutsche Rundfunk," Cologne.

Despite leaving the grand stages of classical music while raising her family in Quincy, Mrs. Leonora Suppan-Gehrich continued to perform locally, nationally and internationally, often with over 60 concerts per year. She received the first prize and cash awards in the International Recording Competition of the Piano Guild in 1981 and 1982. She was one of 70 pianists from all over the world invited to play at the International Beethoven Festival at Southern Illinois University in 1992. In 1993, she accepted an invitation to perform at the fifth Interdisciplinary Conference on Women in San Juan, Costa Rica. In acknowledgment of her accomplishments, Quincy University awarded Mrs.

Leonora Suppan-Gehrich an honorary doctorate in 1987, and the mayor bestowed on her the Arts Award of Quincy in 1988.

In an interview in 1999 Mrs. Suppan-Gehrich was asked, "Does your private life help or hinder your music?" She responded, "It takes love, time and energy, but a satisfying private life creates more energy." With this undaunted energy, she became a devoted mother to her three children, Alan, Brian and Colleen, two of whom pursued music as a career. She wholeheartedly supported her husband, and with his instruction and encouragement, she learned to co-pilot an airplane, play competitive tennis, ride horses, become an accomplished cook, and be an astute judge on political discourse.

Mrs. Leonora Suppan-Gehrich always believed in the driving force and ultimately in the transcendence of music. This conviction powered her life and led to the thousands of hours of practice, which allowed her to perform with a brilliant technical prowess. She lived a full and vibrant life, which infused her music with expressive power and warmth. Her conviction allowed her to share her talent generously, with unwavering confidence and optimism. It gave her joy to create an environment where her audiences were able to share in the beauty and splendor of classical music.

She is survived by her husband, Guenter Gehrich, MD. Her eldest son, Alan Gehrich, MD, is a colonel in the U.S. Army, assigned in Honolulu, Hawaii, with his wife, Barbara, and children, Roman and Grace. Brian Gehrich, her second son, who is a professional violinist and teacher, and wife, Dilieth, are living in Bloomington. Her daughter, Colleen, who is teaching piano, is married to Sam Haffar and living with their three children, Dana, Omar and Lana, in Houston, Texas.

SERVICES: Friends are invited to gather to celebrate Leonora's life from 3:30 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, with a tribute featuring her music to begin at 6 p.m. at the Hansen-Spear Funeral Home.

MEMORIALS: In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Leonora Suppan-Gehrich Scholarship at Quincy University.

ARRANGEMENTS: Hansen-Spear Funeral Home.

WEBSITE: www.hansenspear.com.

Condolences may be expressed online at whig.com.