Eileen H (Hammond) Suddath

Eileen (Hammond) Suddath, age 93, was born in Los Angeles, California on July 29, 1923, and died at her beloved home in Cohasset, Massachusetts on February 6, 2017. She was 10 years old when she moved with her mother to Washington, DC, where she remained until marrying Capt. Thomas H. Suddath, US Navy. With an unflagging curiosity for the world and a love of travel, she began her working life at Eastern Airlines in Washington. After marrying Tom, they lived over the next ten years in Singapore, Trinidad, and many cities along the East Coast of the United States. Together, they took the opportunity to visit as many countries as they could between and during postings. Cambodia, Indonesia, Bali, Malaysia, Egypt, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Argentina, and Barbados were some that they took in during the 1950s and early 60s.

After returning to the U.S. and settling in Cohasset in 1964, Eileen discovered a love for skiing during a trip to Quebec. For 30 years, she had a virtual second home at the Sunday River Inn in Maine and traveled with the Top of the Hill Gang to every major ski resort in the Western U.S. and Canada. She continued skiing until she was 78, often accompanied by her granddaughters Alisha and Melanie. 

Eileen also had a twenty-year career at Talbots in Hingham as a customer service representative, a job through which she developed many lasting and cherished friendships. Upon retiring, she worked for many years as a part-time volunteer with the Senior Center in Cohasset.

She was a member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UMass Boston, where she took numerous classes and two month-long travel seminars to Thailand and India. When her daughter, Virginia, moved to Honolulu for graduate school, Eileen squeezed in four trips to the Hawaiian Islands, where she hiked glowing lava fields at night at the age of 81. Those years also saw her on trips to Western Europe with friends, a river cruise in Germany with her son Thomas, a Jeep trip to the red rocks of Sedona with her son Blake, a return trip to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur with her daughter Susan, and a long weekend in Iceland.

Known as Mimi to her children and their friends, she is survived by Susan Howle Suddath of Cohasset; Virginia Daily Suddath and son-in-law Curt Bennett of Wailuku, HI; Thomas Howle Suddath, Jr. and daughter-in-law Mollie of Philadelphia; and Roger Blake Suddath and daughter-in-law Jill of Scituate, MA. Adoring grandmother to Alisha Vasse (Greg), of Wilton, CT, Melanie Suddath of Los Angeles, CA, and Thomas H. Suddath, III and Emily Suddath of Philadelphia, PA. Great-grandmother of Gregory Vasse and Blake Vasse. She is also survived by her brother-in-law Major Gen. (U.S. Army, ret.) Leroy N. Suddath and sister-in-law Carole of Savannah, GA, as well as fourteen nieces and nephews. An only child, Eileen valued her extended family. 

A Liturgy of the Resurrection will be celebrated in St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 16 Highland Ave., Cohasset, MA 02025 on Saturday, February 11, 2017 at 11am. Friends and family will gather to celebrate Eileen during visiting hours on Friday, February 10, 2017 from 4-8pm in McNamara-Sparrell Funeral, 160 South Main Street (across from St. Anthony's Church), Cohasset, MA 02025. Interment will be at Woodside Cemetery, Cohasset, MA. In lieu of flowers, donations to honor Eileen may be made to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UMass Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125.

 Service Information