Obituary of Suellen Stuart

Suellen Stuart,75 , a longtime Loudonville resident known as The Queen of Hearts passed away on February 10, 2015 Originally, Suellen Stuart’s mother, a pillar of Albany’s Jewish high society, had intended to name her daughter Susan Ellen. That was until she began reading the novel, Gone With The Wind while still pregnant. That novel, which was sweeping America, ultimately inspired her mother to change her unborn daughter’s name to Suellen— a striking name and not common for a Jewish woman living in Upstate New York. And perhaps it is fitting that she was named from America’s most beloved novel of romance and adventure since her life was as riveting as any of the greatest stories ever told. As the daughter of Milton Becker who was often referred to as the “Barrel Barron of Albany”, young Suellen grew up surrounded with the excitement of Albany’s political movers and shakers including Danny O’Connell and members of the Lynch family. She herself was just as popular as any of the politicians she had met during the course of her life. Suellen was exceptionally popular in high school where many of her classmates nicknamed her “Becky Becker”. As a young woman, she fell in love at first sight for a suave man a decade older than her with incredible charisma and “movie star good looks”—Vernon Stuart. They fell out of touch for many years until Vernon returned back to Albany after spending several years in Europe. Suellen met her berschert or soul mate once again a decade later although by this time, her parents had both decided that Vernon would be a potential suitor for Suellen’s older sister. As fate and true love would have it, Vernon chose Suellen and they were married shortly thereafter. Suellen and Vernon’s marriage endured and thrived for over a half century. They were very rarely apart, never losing that incredible spark of love which they first found over fifty years earlier. No matter whatever she was undertaking from excelling as a trail blazing career woman in the 1970s with a successful career in real estate sales and property appraisal while raising two small children, Suellen possessed an unparalleled zest for life and love for meeting new people from an enormous diversity of backgrounds. It was that love of people which also propelled her to leadership roles in Albany’s Jewish community’s service organizations. Suellen was also known for her beautiful singing voice which she often shared while a member at her cherished Congregation Beth Emeth in Albany. An avid reader throughout her life, Suellen lost herself in the pages of every book on which she could get her hands. Her taste in fiction ran the gamut from classic literature to popular novels by Judith Krantz, Stephen King, and Dean Koontz. She had an incredible knack for figuring out “who done it” in mystery television shows and movies within just a few minutes of watching. Her keen mind was often at its best and her heart was filled with joy whenever she played the card game of Bridge as a Life Master and a true “Queen of Hearts” in Bridge studios around the Capital District area. Although, Suellen was an exceptionally accomplished woman, it was quite obvious that she was most proud of her husband, Vernon, a retired principal attorney in the appeals and opinions bureau in the New York State attorney general in Albany as well as her two children. Her son, Bruce Stuart lives in San Francisco where he is an attorney, Vice President and a member of the National Diversity Council for Morgan Stanley as well as the coauthor (with Kim Stuart Swidler) of five books. Her daughter, Kim Stuart Swidler, is an attorney, coauthor (with Bruce Stuart) of five books, and the very popular travel blogger, Travel Gal for the Albany Times Union. Suellen taught both of her children to dare to dream big and to experience all that life has to offer. Suellen was an incredibly brave and tenacious woman up until the end of her life. She will be greatly missed by the hundreds of individuals whose lives were made better because she was there to help them in any way that she could. She is survived by her husband, Vernon Stuart, her children Bruce Stuart and his husband William Ho, of San Francisco California, Kim Stuart Swidler, and her husband, Robert Swidler of Rensselaer, and her two grandchildren Sarah Fielding and Alex Fielding. Donations can be made in Suellen Stuart’s honor to Congregation Beth Emeth in Albany. Suellen was laid to rest on Sunday. February 15, 2015 at the Beth Emeth Cemetery in Loudonville, NY