Suzanne Louise French-Flug

Suzanne Louise French-Flug (nee Keating) of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, passed away at the age of 76 on June 8th, 2024 due to metastatic breast cancer and Parkinson’s, aggravated by a recent fall.

Suzanne was born on June 18, 1947 in St. Louis, Missouri to James Keating and Marjorie Schueneman. She had 12 years of Catholic school education, attending Ascension Catholic School and Xavier High School for Girls in St Louis, Missouri and Mundelein College in Chicago where she obtained her BA in Sociology . Despite winning a prize in the Betty Crocker Homemakers of Tomorrow competition at Xavier, much to the surprise of herself and her classmates, she ended up working outside the home in many positions across the United States.

After college, she worked as a stenographer, sales clerk, and as a bank teller in New York, where she notably asked Muhammed Ali for ID when he came in to deposit a check. In letters to her good friend Janet, she made clear how often the door was closed to her as a woman for many positions during that time, despite the college degree. She later worked as a city employee for Detroit’s Employment Office and a research assistant for Wayne State University’s Department of Medicine. After a move to Chicago, she held coordinator/manager positions in clinical research and institutional review boards at the Illinois Cancer Center, Northwestern University Medical School, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, and University of Illinois at Chicago where she retired in 2018.

Suzanne was also a dedicated labor and civil rights activist. A photo of her in a march to support the Equal Rights Amendment, with a banner that read “The Struggle Continues,” is now on the front of the main brochure for the Chicago Women’s History Center. In the early 70s, she made the opening speech before a large march protesting Nazi presence in Detroit, despite never having spoken publicly before (and admitted this in her speech). Her son Kevin vividly remembers her introducing him to Rosa Parks at the funeral of a fellow activist Charles Denby (also known as Simon Owens). While their parents’ activism often took them away from the home, something that Suzanne mentioned with regret to friends, both her sons are grateful for the environment of equality and justice that they were raised in.

While in high school and attending a summer Chinese immersion course with her dear friend Cathy Luh at the University of Colorado - Boulder, she met Bob French who would later become her first husband. In addition to their shared activism, they spent a lot of their free time at Shakespeare plays and movies, where Suzanne developed her encyclopedic memory of actors and directors. They had two children, Michael and Kevin, and lived together in New York and Detroit. She was a lifelong fan of ham sandwiches, so much so that she even had Bob smuggle her in one when she was in hospital after delivering Michael. After their amicable divorce, she married longtime friend Michael Flug in 1984.

Michael and Suzanne enjoyed attending events across Chicago, including at the Irish American Center and the Lyric Opera. They also participated in an international dinner group for many years and hosted many dinners for friends. She was known by those that knew her for her quick wit, humorous sarcasm, and her intense passion for justice for the downtrodden. Her feminism was unwavering and she didn’t let a sexist remark stand. Her Betty Crocker accolade was not misawarded as her children and friends enjoyed most excellent baking and cooking, including her fantastic spritz cookies and apple pies with incredibly flaky crusts. They lived in a condo in Rogers Park near Lake Michigan for nearly 30 years and enjoyed quick access to the beach for strolls and swims. Michael preceded her in death in 2019, but shortly before he passed away, they adopted a diminutive Calico cat named Kerry despite his intense allergies. Mom was convinced he did so believing his death was imminent and didn’t want her to be alone.

In December 2021, her son Michael helped Suzanne move with her cat into The Merion, an independent living facility in Evanston, IL. Her full enjoyment of The Merion was hindered by falls and multiple health problems, with friends Beth and Valerie, or her son Michael flying in from California, helping her get to many appointments and procedures. After a diagnosis of metastatic cancer and Parkinson’s, using Canadian permanent residency he acquired for her, Kevin brought her to live in Canada so he could care for her. There, she took up residence at Parkland at the Lakes enriched care facility in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. She enjoyed daily visits from her son or his partner. She was not able to keep her cat with her, but she had frequent weekend cat visits as Kevin added Kerry to his family.

Both diseases advanced quickly, and after a fall that seriously debilitated her at the end of May, she passed away in the early morning hours of June 8th with her son Kevin’s hand on her arm. The Parkland at the Lakes staff (Alderney floor in Lewis Hall) were instrumental to mom’s easy transition to Nova Scotia and comfort in her final days, and we thank them wholeheartedly and will miss them tremendously.

Suzanne was also preceded in death by her parents James and Marjorie Keating and brother Kevin G. Keating. She is survived by her brothers Timothy (Frances), Patrick (Debbie), and Michael Keating, her sons Michael (Allison Zwingenberger) and Kevin (David Woodhall), and her two very beloved grandchildren. She wished very much her health problems hadn’t interfered with and cut short her time to be a grandmother. She loved that role, and that of a mother, and told her friends this often. She prided herself on fantastic Christmas packages and supplying the grandkids with large volumes of summer and school clothes. She also was a dedicated cat mom and had pajamas that stated this.

A celebration of her life will be held in Chicago at a future date. Friends and family will be notified once a date and location is selected.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to one of the many organizations Suzanne supported or enjoyed: Irish American Heritage Center in Chicago, Chicago Women’s History Center, Lyric Opera of Chicago, WTTW - Chicago’s PBS Station, or the National Museum of African American History and Culture in DC. Any donation to an animal charity, such as Bide-Awhile here in Dartmouth, will also be welcomed as she adored animals, especially cats and dogs.