Nicholas Paul Suzich

Nicholas Paul Suzich, beloved husband, father, brother, and friend passed away May 18, 2026 at the age of 70. Nick suffered from a neurodegenerative disorder that was originally thought to be Parkinson’s disease but was later reclassified as multiple system atrophy (MSA). He died peacefully in his home.

Nick was born on December 15,1955 in Danville, Pennsylvania, and was the eldest son of Nicholas Peter and Gloria (Marinari) Suzich. He attended St. Edward’s Elementary School, Our Lady of Lourdes High School and graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1977 with a degree in English. He worked in retail management, retiring to become a stay-at-home dad to his two sons.

On August 6, 1977, he married JoAnn Pochekailo. They spent several years in West Lafayette, Indiana and St. Paul, Minnesota before settling in Washington Grove, Maryland outside Washington DC.

Nick was a devoted husband and father. In addition to his wife of 49 years, survivors include sons Peter Suzich (Washington DC) and Timothy (Samantha) Suzich (Washington Grove, MD), granddaughter Victoria Suzich, sisters Marianne (Paul) Karwacki (State College, PA) and Cindy (Daniel) Houck (Elysburg, PA), brother Christopher (Jacqueline) Suzich (Rockville, MD) and brother-in-law Paul (Ellen) Pochekailo (Fairfax, VA), along with beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Nick was an avid reader, baseball fan (Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates), and music lover (Van Morrison, Natalie Merchant, Jason Isbell, the Black Keys, the Killers). He enjoyed running in his younger days and completed several marathons.

He was a tireless volunteer, serving for years as a Boy Scout leader. He was also active in his local community of Washington Grove serving as Chair of the Board of Elections.

Nick thoroughly enjoyed gardening, cooking, and sharing good food, wine and conversation with family and friends including “The Wine Club”. He took great pleasure in spending time outdoors. He hiked and backpacked parts of the Appalachian Trail and cherished family vacations out west where adventures included trekking down into the Grand Canyon. Nick loved to swim, especially on annual family trips to Topsail Island, NC.

Although MSA robbed him of his ability to swim, run, walk unassisted, garden, cook, and even write his name, Nick was optimistic. He never displayed anger and refused to sink into self-pity or despair. He truly appreciated any kindness shown to him. Throughout his sickness, Nick maintained his sense of humor. He will be deeply missed.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Nick’s honor can be made to the Capital Area Food Bank (give.capitalareafoodbank.org) and to Confluence HRKC, a not-for-profit harm reduction organization based in Kansas City (confluencehrkc.org/nick).