Suzanne Ruelle Rasco

Suzanne Ruelle Rasco was born in Detroit, MI to Alexander III and Frances Elizabeth Trout Ruelle. She grew up in Kenilworth, IL until her parents moved to Winter Park, FL while she was in college at UC Boulder. She transferred to Rollins College but ended up leaving one semester short of her degree to get married. She returned to college in her 40s and graduated in 1984 from UMass Boston’s College of Public and Community Service with a BA in Human Services. She found her calling working in the Displaced Homemaker Program at Aquinas College in Newton, MA, becoming the Assistant Director. She thrived helping women who had been out of the workforce and faced various obstacles to supporting their families; while the women earned a degree in an expanding field, the program also provided support and taught the skills needed to secure a job, all with child care provided on-site. Suzanne loved to lead workshops in all aspects of building job search skills - résumé writing, interviewing, dressing for success/personal presentation and various interpersonal/life skills - she reveled in the interaction with the women. She was instrumental in helping so many women change their lives; she was loved and respected and a mentor to many.

Suzanne married Kay M. Yeuell in 1958 and moved to Lincoln, MA, where she lived for nearly 40 years and raised her family. She is survived by her 3 children: Robin Alexandra Buergert (Gerry), Brian Kay Yeuell, and Graeme Robert (Rob) Yeuell; as well as her sister Carolyn Ruelle Gale, her niece Danielle Suzanne Douglass, and her great nephews Tyler Bryan Douglass and Hunter Robert Douglass. Suzanne ended up finding, in her friend, her new beginning; she married Austin T. Rasco, also of Lincoln, MA, and they were inseparable for the next nearly 40 years. In each other they truly found their other half. Through her second marriage, Suzanne gained an expanded family that she was very close to. She is survived by her stepchildren: Lynda Diane Rudd (Bill), Guy Austin Rasco (Deanna), Carey Jean Rasco (Bill Burge), and Catherine Elizabeth Rasco. She is also survived by her many beloved grandchildren: Morgan Rudd (Alison), Carley Broselle (Jake), Cameron Rasco (Mary), Zale Rasco (Emily Huo), Will Rasco, Amy Rasco, Hannah Walsh, and Summer Walsh. Suzanne lived to get to know 3 great grandchildren; Fleury Rudd, Lucas McPherson, and Solène Broselle. She was also quite close with her sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Ruth & Paul Stiehl, both of whom predeceased her, while she is survived by the extended Stiehl family.

To know Suzanne was to love her! She was a devoted mother, wife, and friend. She quickly made friends wherever she went, which was especially true when she and Austin made their retirement home in Jacksonville Beach, FL. Their home was not only idyllic (set on a tidal marsh next to the intracoastal waterway in the most peaceful, picturesque location), but it was a warm and welcoming place for family to spend time together. Suzanne had a rich life there full of exceptional friends & neighbors, travel, bike riding, volunteering at BEAM, and generally enjoying life. She even took up pottery and painting with pastels, creating beautiful works of art treasured by those lucky enough to receive one of her special handmade creations. She had a gift. She suffered from Parkinson’s Disease in the last few years of her life. She fought it with everything she had for as long as she could. She passed away peacefully on July 22, 2025, at 87, in South Portland, ME, where she and Austin had moved to be closer to family. Despite the circumstances, it nonetheless seemed too soon to let her go. She was a bright light in this world; she was strong, resilient, courageous, adventurous, intelligent, witty, warm, loving, creative, accepting, and so much more (as an example of her spirit, she played ice hockey on an all-women’s team while living in MA; the team was officially named the Steamers, but unofficially they called themselves the “Motherpuckers”). She is irreplaceable and is sorely missed every day.

The family celebrated her life at Two Lights State Park, Cape Elizabeth, ME, on July 30, 2025. Anyone wishing to honor her memory can make a donation to either BEAM in Jacksonville Beach, where Suzanne and Austin were longtime volunteers, or to the Parkinson’s Foundation. Links to both are as follows:

https://jaxbeam.org/donate/

https://www.parkinson.org/node/79