Suzanne Tilly Gaston-Voute

Suzanne was born in the Swiss Alps, the oldest of five children. Her mother was an artist, weaver and teacher, and her father was the physician and director of a small tuberculosis clinic.

After a bucolic childhood (that would give Heidi a run for her money), she trained in Bern, (the Swiss capital) as a Kindergarten teacher and then took on her first job as an occupational therapist in the Children’s Hospital in Basel, working with bedridden children dealing with long term illnesses. During a train ride across Switzerland, she met Lloyd, a handsome young American GI on leave. After a whirlwind courtship, they married and moved to Frankfurt, Germany, (where Lloyd served in the US Army intelligence service) and later to Basel, Switzerland (where Lloyd studied theology) raising three boys in the process. In 1960, they moved to the USA, initially living in Connecticut and New Jersey (near Lloyd’s parents) where Lloyd worked as a teaching assistant at Princeton University and as minister of a small church.

Around that time, their little Swiss cousin joined them, completing the family. In 1962, they all moved to Minnesota, where Lloyd accepted a teaching position at Macalester College. It was there that Suzanne started teaching craft classes at Macalester Church, then weaving classes at the St.Paul YWCA, and the St.Paul Art Center. Suzanne also translated manuals and brochures for Kircher, a German weaving loom manufacturer, which enabled them to enter the US market. In order to afford regular visits to her aging parents in Switzerland, Suzanne also created a line of hand painted jewelry pins that she sold successfully at local shops. After moving to Vancouver, Canada (when Lloyd accepted a position at the Vancouver School of Theology), Suzanne started “Tantalus Weavers”, her own mini weaving school, serving faculty and students of UBC. Suzanne also organized and taught numerous weaving workshops in Washington and Oregon. She also took on commissions for some of her signature hand woven coats, and various liturgical vestments.

Suzanne will always be remembered for her kind nature, resourceful creativity, tireless energy and optimistic outlook. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, brother and extended family in Canada, Switzerland and the USA.