Suzanne Richard Leonardich

Suzanne Richard Leonardich passed away at the age of 74 on April 29, 2025, at Orchard Crest Assisted Living in Spokane Valley, Washington. Shortly after her 74th birthday, she moved to Orchard Crest in response to an ongoing struggle with a number of health issues that started in late 2023.

Suzanne was born February 20, 1951, in Louisville, Kentucky. She and her family moved to Hayward, California when she was 8 years old. She attended Mt. Eden High School and Holy Names College where she graduated in 1973 with a BA degree in Psychology. She spent most of her working life as a Workers’ Compensation Claims Examiner.

In 1979 she married Michael, who she met on a blind date. The couple had two children together. They made their home in the Montclair district in the Oakland Hills which they remodeled three times over the course of 34 years. When she wasn’t remodeling, she enjoyed singing and participated in several choir groups, most notably Distaff Singers of Oakland.

Suzanne cherished many deep friendships, some going back to the 2nd grade. She very much enjoyed entertaining. Her annual Derby Day and New Year’s Eve parties attracted family and friends from across the country.

She is survived by her husband of 46 years, Michael, son Daniel Paul (Acacia Ambauen) of Fair Oaks, California, and Joseph Peter (Katie Neis) of Spokane, Washington, grandchildren Adam Daniel, and Samuel Michael, sisters Nancy (Reimers) of Austin, Texas, and Eileen (Bliss) of Livermore, California. She was preceded in death by her sister Pauline Van Buren of Oakland and her brother Martin of Juneau, Alaska.

A Celebration of Life is being planned in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her constant sense of charity and generosity continued beyond her death as she was an organ donor and others have been able to benefit from her gift.

The family would like to thank her care team at Orchard Crest and countless other Spokane medical and care professionals that helped her over the past seventeen months.