Submitted by Pamela Boyd
The coop has lost a long time member Friday September 21st at 5:00 am - Suzanne Gibson in #34, finally succumbed to cancer after a two year ordeal filled with amazing patience and good humour. She will be missed tremendously.
This obituary will be in The Herald on Thursday September 27 to Sunday September 29.
Gibson, Suzanne (Suzy) Byrl, BA, BA, MA, PhD, May 10, 1953 - September 22, 2018. Suzy was a Calgarian born and bred. Although life took her elsewhere - to Hamilton, Ontario where she completed her PhD - or to Gwanju, Korea, where she was an Associate Professor for several years - she always returned to her beloved Calgary. She was proud of being a second generation Calgarian and a third generation Albertan.
Prior to completing her PhD in 18th Century English Literature at McMaster, Suzy did a BA in English, a BA in History and an MA in English Literature at the University of Calgary. She taught for many years at the University of Calgary and at Mount Royal College before taking up the position at Chonnam National University in Gwangju. After her retirement she took on an active role in the Sunnyside Housing Coop where she had lived for many years.
Suzy was an academic to the core, never too sick to have a discussion about the finer points of grammar or usage. She was also so much more. Her career included a stint as an airplane dispatcher and she had an impressive knowledge of car engines. She played a mean guitar, was an avid pool player and was always ready for a song or to bust out the dance moves. Suzy was a force of nature: larger than life and always the life of the party. She will be greatly missed by her family, Greg and Judy McCaffrey and Phillip McCaffrey, as well as her extensive family of special friends.
A musical gathering to celebrate and remember Suzy was held on Sunday September 30, 2018 at The Block 2411 – 4th Street N.W. from 6-9 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Suzanne’s honour can be made online to the Tom Baker Cancer Centre.