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February 23, 2014
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Thursday, February 27, 2014, from 3-5 & 7-9 PM.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 28, 2014, 10:00 AM at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, 395 Valley Road, Wayne. Interment will follow at Ridgefield Cemetery, Ridgefield.
Julia M. Suarez (née Krause), age 85, died peacefully at her home on Sunday, February 23, 2014 after a brief and unexpected illness. Her family lovingly stood by her side at the time of her passing.
A true renaissance woman, Julia was born in West New York and raised in Ridgefield, the younger of Emil and Julia Krause’s two children. She was a child during the depression whose parents instilled a “can-do” outlook on life that Julia truly embraced.
Julia graduated from Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood with the class of 1946. While there, she took a drafting class and landed a job in drafting with Bell Labs.
She met her future husband Joseph Suarez at Dwight Morrow. She was a junior and he was a senior. One late October night, Joseph was out with his buddies at the Oritani Theater in Hackensack. After enjoying that night’s feature, Arsenic and Old Lace, he and his friends came out of the theater where Joseph quickly spotted a nice pumpkin display. In a rare moment of spontaneous mischief, Joseph sneaked up and grabbed one of those pumpkins, a forty-pounder, and ran off with it. Wondering what to do with such a large pumpkin, Joseph came up with a great idea; he had been admiring Julia from a distance and had heard that the girls club she was involved in at school was going to have a Halloween party. So he lugged the pumpkin to her house, rang her doorbell and presented it to her, explaining that he got it for her party. A wonderful relationship was born that day and Julia dated Joseph through the rest of their high school days, then corresponded via love-letters through the years Joseph was away in the Navy. After his return, with Julia’s parents' blessing, they got engaged then married on Saturday, February 25, 1950, at Zion Lutheran Church in Ridgefield. Following a honeymoon to the White Mountains of Mittersill, NH, where they both learned to snow ski as part of their honeymoon package, they settled into the second floor of an apartment right around the corner from Julia’s parents in Ridgefield. Julia continued in her job with Equitable Life Insurance Company until the spring of 1950 when she gave birth to her daughter Julia. In the next few years, Julia and Joseph welcomed two more daughters, Lisa and Elizabeth. In 1957, the family moved to a brand new home in Wayne where Julia remained to the present.
As a young mom, Julia’s life centered on the loving care of her husband, children, and home. She was an outstanding homemaker who could do anything she put her mind to. Her home was impeccably clean, thanks partially to her 1950’s Hoover vacuum cleaner that still works to this day. And because of her endless creativity, Julia’s home was beautifully decorated with many items she crafted with her own hands. As an excellent seamstress, Julia made slip covers and quilts for the beds and beautiful curtains to adorn the windows. She also sewed most of her daughters' clothing, including Halloween costumes. As many as a dozen of the items of furniture in the home were made by Julia and Joseph from reproduction kits they had acquired. They meticulously assembled, stained, varnished and, in some cases, upholstered these beautiful walnut furnishings. She also caned chairs. Julia took as much pride in her own appearance as she did in her home. She always said she would never go out looking like a hat rack and she was classic in her tastes, often being complimented for looking younger than she actually was.
Inspired in 1962 by Rachel Carson’s New York Times best seller book Silent Spring, which raised widespread public concerns with pesticides and pollution of the environment, Julia began her own organic vegetable garden. In this one-thousand square foot portion of her back yard, she became a master gardener, growing just about every vegetable one could imagine. Harvest time led to countless hours in the kitchen canning much of what was grown for enjoyable consumption by her family and friends during the long winter months ahead. Much of that produce went into delicious meals that Julia prepared as an excellent cook. Her family especially enjoyed her roast pork and sauerkraut and one time she even prepared a suckling pig complete with an apple in its mouth. Julia loved to bake as much as she loved to cook. The house always smelled inviting and delicious when she was baking her fresh breads, and she never had a problem peddling her cookies and cakes, and pastries and pies too.
One day her husband Joseph came home to a pile of sand and a few pallets of bricks stacked in the back yard. When he asked Julia where they came from, she excitedly explained that she was going to lay a brick patio complete with a seventy foot winding pathway through the back yard. She did it, all by herself! Julia made her own elderberry and dandelion wines and Kahlua, lemoncello, and Cointreau cordials, took up juggling, ceramics, woodcarving, archery, lapidary, and artistic painting. Always hungry for knowledge, she enrolled in many adult education courses and even took language courses in German at William Paterson College. One of the funnier challenges that Julia faced was participation in a game of beer pong with her grandchildren. One of her daughters told the kids to go easy on Grandma so she didn’t end up drinking too much. No problems, novice that she was, Grandma beat them all and remained the sober one.
Julia took great delight in watching classic movies, especially mysteries. After all, she loved a good challenge and solving a mystery was just one more outlet to satisfy that love. She also enjoyed reading mystery novels and watching those British mystery and comedy shows on television, and solving crossword puzzles. A true animal lover at heart, Julia had three German Shepherds and one mixed-breed over the course of her life, including Schatzie, Frieda, Susie, and Willi, and she never refused any of her daughter’s requests for pets, playing host over the years to rabbits, gerbils, mice, guinea pigs, chameleons, a rat, gold fish, and a couple of cats. She loved to invest herself into the life of her grandchildren too, frequently involving them in a project or just going sleigh riding with them.
Julia was a charter member of St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Wayne, where she actively participated in many of the church’s ministries including counselor for the Luther League youth group and serving on the Altar Guild. Of course, over the period of many years, she baked for countless church fundraisers and other various functions, and she was often referred to as the church’s bread baker. She was also a past-president of the Wayne Preakness Women’s Club involved in fundraising for numerous philanthropic endeavors.
With her husband Joseph, Julia had the privilege of traveling all over the world to such destinations as Sicily and Pompeii in Italy, Austria, Iceland, Greenland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, a riverboat trip through France, Germany and Switzerland, as well as trips to Russia, Canada, South America, Mexico, St. Croix, Bermuda, and the British Isles. She also toured through Alaska and many U.S. national parks including a whitewater rafting trip on the Salmon River in Idaho. A real highlight for Julia was an actual bobsled ride on the Olympic track in Lake Placid, NY, in her sixties, and travelling to both the Arctic and Antarctica where she got to frolic with penguins and walk on glaciers.
When complimented, Julia always downplayed her talents, crediting her accomplishments more to strong-will, hard work and determination. She was thoughtful and firm in her opinions, and she always played by the rules and expected everyone to do the same. Despite her many accomplishment and experiences in life, Julia would want be remembered more for her modesty, generosity, and tireless pursuit for the welfare and happiness of her family and friends.
Surviving is her beloved husband Joseph; three dear daughters: Julia Suarez Hayes and husband David of Oneonta, NY, Lisa Suarez and husband John of Highland Lakes, and Elizabeth Koch and husband John of Kinnelon; five cherished grandchildren: Chris, Liz, Alex, Nelly and August; three adored great-grandchildren: Kristyn, Riley and Ava; and her sister-in-law Juanita Krause of Warwick, NY. She was predeceased by her brother John Krause in 2007.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Julia’s name are asked to consider the Saint Timothy Lutheran Church Memorial Fund.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Thursday, February 27, 2014, from 3-5 & 7-9 PM.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 28, 2014, 10:00 AM at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, 395 Valley Road, Wayne. Interment will follow at Ridgefield Cemetery, Ridgefield.
February 23, 2014
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Thursday, February 27, 2014, from 3-5 & 7-9 PM.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 28, 2014, 10:00 AM at St. Timothy Lutheran Church, 395 Valley Road, Wayne. Interment will follow at Ridgefield Cemetery, Ridgefield.
Julia M. Suarez (née Krause), age 85, died peacefully at her home on Sunday, February 23, 2014 after a brief and unexpected illness. Her family lovingly stood by her side at the time of her passing.
A true renaissance woman, Julia was born in West New York and raised in Ridgefield, the younger of Emil and Julia Krause’s two children. She was a child during the depression whose parents instilled a “can-do” outlook on life that Julia truly embraced.
Julia graduated from Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood with the class of 1946. While there, she took a drafting class and landed a job in drafting with Bell Labs.
She met her future husband Joseph Suarez at Dwight Morrow. She was a junior and he was a senior. One late October night, Joseph was out with his buddies at the Oritani Theater in Hackensack. After enjoying that night’s feature, Arsenic and Old Lace, he and his friends came out of the theater where Joseph quickly spotted a nice pumpkin display. In a rare moment of spontaneous mischief, Joseph sneaked up and grabbed one of those pumpkins, a forty-pounder, and ran off with it. Wondering what to do with such a large pumpkin, Joseph came up with a great idea; he had been admiring Julia from a distance and had heard that the girls club she was involved in at school was going to have a Halloween party. So he lugged the pumpkin to her house, rang her doorbell and presented it to her, explaining that he got it for her party. A wonderful relationship was born that day and Julia dated Joseph through the rest of their high school days, then corresponded via love-letters through the years Joseph was away in the Navy. After his return, with Julia’s parents' blessing, they got engaged then married on Saturday, February 25, 1950, at Zion Lutheran Church in Ridgefield. Following a honeymoon to the White Mountains of Mittersill, NH, where they both learned to snow ski as part of their honeymoon package, they settled into the second floor of an apartment right around the corner from Julia’s parents in Ridgefield. Julia continued in her job with Equitable Life Insurance Company until the spring of 1950 when she gave birth to her daughter Julia. In the next few years, Julia and Joseph welcomed two more daughters, Lisa and Elizabeth. In 1957, the family moved to a brand new home in Wayne where Julia remained to the present.
As a young mom, Julia’s life centered on the loving care of her husband, children, and home. She was an outstanding homemaker who could do anything she put her mind to. Her home was impeccably clean, thanks partially to her 1950’s Hoover vacuum cleaner that still works to this day. And because of her endless creativity, Julia’s home was beautifully decorated with many items she crafted with her own hands. As an excellent seamstress, Julia made slip covers and quilts for the beds and beautiful curtains to adorn the windows. She also sewed most of her daughters' clothing, including Halloween costumes. As many as a dozen of the items of furniture in the home were made by Julia and Joseph from reproduction kits they had acquired. They meticulously assembled, stained, varnished and, in some cases, upholstered these beautiful walnut furnishings. She also caned chairs. Julia took as much pride in her own appearance as she did in her home. She always said she would never go out looking like a hat rack and she was classic in her tastes, often being complimented for looking younger than she actually was.
Inspired in 1962 by Rachel Carson’s New York Times best seller book Silent Spring, which raised widespread public concerns with pesticides and pollution of the environment, Julia began her own organic vegetable garden. In this one-thousand square foot portion of her back yard, she became a master gardener, growing just about every vegetable one could imagine. Harvest time led to countless hours in the kitchen canning much of what was grown for enjoyable consumption by her family and friends during the long winter months ahead. Much of that produce went into delicious meals that Julia prepared as an excellent cook. Her family especially enjoyed her roast pork and sauerkraut and one time she even prepared a suckling pig complete with an apple in its mouth. Julia loved to bake as much as she loved to cook. The house always smelled inviting and delicious when she was baking her fresh breads, and she never had a problem peddling her cookies and cakes, and pastries and pies too.
One day her husband Joseph came home to a pile of sand and a few pallets of bricks stacked in the back yard. When he asked Julia where they came from, she excitedly explained that she was going to lay a brick patio complete with a seventy foot winding pathway through the back yard. She did it, all by herself! Julia made her own elderberry and dandelion wines and Kahlua, lemoncello, and Cointreau cordials, took up juggling, ceramics, woodcarving, archery, lapidary, and artistic painting. Always hungry for knowledge, she enrolled in many adult education courses and even took language courses in German at William Paterson College. One of the funnier challenges that Julia faced was participation in a game of beer pong with her grandchildren. One of her daughters told the kids to go easy on Grandma so she didn’t end up drinking too much. No problems, novice that she was, Grandma beat them all and remained the sober one.
Julia took great delight in watching classic movies, especially mysteries. After all, she loved a good challenge and solving a mystery was just one more outlet to satisfy that love. She also enjoyed reading mystery novels and watching those British mystery and comedy shows on television, and solving crossword puzzles. A true animal lover at heart, Julia had three German Shepherds and one mixed-breed over the course of her life, including Schatzie, Frieda, Susie, and Willi, and she never refused any of her daughter’s requests for pets, playing host over the years to rabbits, gerbils, mice, guinea pigs, chameleons, a rat, gold fish, and a couple of cats. She loved to invest herself into the life of her grandchildren too, frequently involving them in a project or just going sleigh riding with them.
Julia was a charter member of St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Wayne, where she actively participated in many of the church’s ministries including counselor for the Luther League youth group and serving on the Altar Guild. Of course, over the period of many years, she baked for countless church fundraisers and other various functions, and she was often referred to as the church’s bread baker. She was also a past-president of the Wayne Preakness Women’s Club involved in fundraising for numerous philanthropic endeavors.
With her husband Joseph, Julia had the privilege of traveling all over the world to such destinations as Sicily and Pompeii in Italy, Austria, Iceland, Greenland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, a riverboat trip through France, Germany and Switzerland, as well as trips to Russia, Canada, South America, Mexico, St. Croix, Bermuda, and the British Isles. She also toured through Alaska and many U.S. national parks including a whitewater rafting trip on the Salmon River in Idaho. A real highlight for Julia was an actual bobsled ride on the Olympic track in Lake Placid, NY, in her sixties, and travelling to both the Arctic and Antarctica where she got to frolic with penguins and walk on glaciers.
When complimented, Julia always downplayed her talents, crediting her accomplishments more to strong-will, hard work and determination. She was thoughtful and firm in her opinions, and she always played by the rules and expected everyone to do the same. Despite her many accomplishment and experiences in life, Julia would want be remembered more for her modesty, generosity, and tireless pursuit for the welfare and happiness of her family and friends.
Surviving is her beloved husband Joseph; three dear daughters: Julia Suarez Hayes and husband David of Oneonta, NY, Lisa Suarez and husband John of Highland Lakes, and Elizabeth Koch and husband John of Kinnelon; five cherished grandchildren: Chris, Liz, Alex, Nelly and August; three adored great-grandchildren: Kristyn, Riley and Ava; and her sister-in-law Juanita Krause of Warwick, NY. She was predeceased by her brother John Krause in 2007.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Julia’s name are asked to consider the Saint Timothy Lutheran Church Memorial Fund.
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