Suzanne Hirsch passed away on October 26, 2024, surrounded by family members. Suzanne Hirsch was born to Sherwood R. and Ruth Vetter Phillips in Muscatine, Iowa, on October 22, 1934. She graduated from Muscatine High School in 1952 and attended Colorado College and the University of Iowa, where she was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. She graduated from Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in Boston, Massachusetts, and then worked as a secretary in Chicago, Illinois, where she met the love of her life, Herb Hirsch. They lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, before moving to the Indian Rocks Beach area of Largo, Florida, in 1970. They were married on May 18, 1957, and celebrated 65 years of marriage before he died on May 19, 2022.
Sue was a Masonic Rainbow Girl in Muscatine, serving as Worthy Advisor and then as Grand Hope for the State of Iowa. She was an active member of Gamma Phi Beta and P.E.O., as well as the Junior League of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and St. Petersburg, Florida. Sue was a tireless volunteer with those and other organizations, leading fundraising events, service projects, and being the glue that held so many groups together. Sue was an executive secretary at Honeywell Corp. in the Tampa area after their children were grown. She brought her organizational skills to her volunteer work, as well as to her family. She was known for her elegant table settings and loved to entertain friends.
Suzanne is survived by her daughter, Patti (Bruce) Hinshaw, and grandchildren Justin, Jason, and Joshua of Charlotte, NC; her son Tom (Paula) Hirsch and grandchildren Will and Katie of Jacksonville, Florida; and her sister Martha (Jim) Whitmore of Ridgway, Colorado, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents and her brother Frederick S. Phillips and sister-in-law Patricia Graham Phillips.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday, November 2, at 11:00 a.m., with family reception time at 10:00 a.m. and social time afterward, at Christ the King Lutheran Church, 11220 Oakhurst Road, Largo, FL 33774. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to Suncoast Hospice or Christ the King Lutheran Church.
