Suzanne Angelo was born Mary Suzanne Speights July 1, 1948 at Memorial Hospital, Houston, Texas. Her parents were James Ralph Speights (b. 1906, Monticello, Mississippi; d. 1998, San Antonio, Texas) and Mary West Speights (b. 1914 in Lufkin, Texas; d. 1996 in Houston, Texas).
Suzanne spent her childhood in Bellaire, Texas. She attended Condit Elementary and Jane Long Middle School. She graduated from Bellaire High School in 1966.
She attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, and married David R. Tronrud on February 17, 1968.
Suzanne gave birth to her daughter Laurel Suzanne Tronrud on June 20, 1969 at Memorial Southwest Hospital, Houston, Texas. Laurel was the light of Suzanne’s life.
After divorcing David Tronrud in 1974, Suzanne was a licensed real estate broker in the state of Texas and engaged in property management and real estate sales in the greater Houston area for many years.
She married E. James Angelo on January 13, 1979 in Bellaire, and began a whole new life adventure that suited her to a tee. To begin with, Jim and Suzanne adored each other and worked hard to be collaborative throughout their 38 years together. Jim was formally educated at Yale in economics and was a computer whiz. Suzanne, who was a master of details, fit in perfectly. As a nephew noted, they always seemed to have their heads together working out the details of whatever project they were working on.
Suzanne and Jim lived in Alief, Texas, then Hunter's Creek, Texas, where Jim was employed by Criterion Investment Management, Co. Together they showed and bred basset hounds and enjoyed traveling. Suzanne had spent her high school years with a basset hound and became hooked on the breed. She was crazy about them, Jim became a fan too, and the two of them adhered to the highest breading standards, as well as being doting owners.
Tragically, Suzanne's daughter, Laurel, died on August 26, 1992 in a traffic accident near Ballinger, Texas on her way back to Laurel’s senior year at Texas Tech University. Like any mother, Suzanne suffered an enormous loss, as did Jim.
In 2003 Suzanne and Jim moved to West Hartford, Connecticut, and retired there in 2006. They continued to enjoy their dogs and travelling in the U.S. and Europe.
Suzanne died on September 23, 2017, and is buried next to her daughter at Woodlawn Cemetery.
She is survived by her beloved Jim, as well as two siblings, Jim Speights of San Antonio and Sara Speights of Austin. Also by step-son David Angelo of San Antonio, nephews Jason Speights and family of San Antonio and Dylan Howze of Austin, sisters-in-law Adrienne Robertson and Elyse Angelo and brother-in-law Dennis Angelo of Oklahoma City.
In lieu of flowers the family suggests a memorial donation to the Houston SPCA which was one of Suzanne's favorite charities, along with the Houston Food Bank.
Houston SPCA: https://secure2.convio.net/hspca/site/Donation2;jsessionid=00000000.app270b?df_id=3305&3305.donation=form1&_ga=2.119629704.1463959995.1506544491-1986504524.1506544491&NONCE_TOKEN=9CC13B94E1798C948F7A86FB795D1C33
Houston Food Bank: https://secure3.convio.net/hfb/site/Donation2?df_id=8530&mfc_pref=T&8530.donation=form1
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