Honoring Suze Davilmar on International Women’s Day
October 7, 1950 – February 5, 2021
March 8, 2021 – Written by Medjine Ofori, Donor, ShareLove.Fund
“You better woman up and put some lipstick on!”
Suze Davilmar was born in Port-au-Prince Haiti on October 7, 1950. As a child she was involved in all youth programs including girl scouts, church choir and school performances. She was the youngest of five siblings and was the apple of her father’s eye. Although the youngest, Suze was fiercely protective of her older sister Marie. In many instances Suze was known to get into scrapes with anyone who dared to pick on her or her sister.
As the years went by Suze grew into a beautiful young girl. It was not uncommon for all heads to turn when she walked into a room. Not only was she beautiful but she had an eye for fashion and carried herself with a notable air of grace equal to royalty. Suze was also known for her direct approach to anything. There was never a time when you did not know where you stood with her as she was not the type to mince words.
At the age of 24, Suze married moving to Europe with her husband. As years went her husband passed away leaving her widowed and a single mom. Suze now faced the challenge of balancing a business and raising her three children Ricardo, Pierre Lunel and Medjine. She worked tirelessly to obtain certifications and even driving a NYC yellow cab as she also struggled to both build her catering business and ensure the needs of her children were met. Through it all her children fondly remember that their home was constantly filled with the smell of homemade cake. Each holiday she would bake her famous pineapple upside-down cake for her friends and family as gifts. When teased by her children for always giving cake as gifts she would reply “well when that’s all you have, that’s all you can give.”
Through all her ups and downs Suze never failed to push forward with a beautiful bright smile. While going through life’s trials and tribulations regardless of what difficulties she may have been having, one would assume she lived in a castle and sat on a thrown.
Suze approached every endeavor passionately including the upbringing of her children. If ever a time she would see Medjine looking unhappy Suze would immediately tell her daughter “You better woman up and put some lipstick on!” While each child was handled differently, the one constant teaching was strength. Her modo for life was “you have to be strong” and she fiercely instilled that thinking in each child.
In 2011 Suze’s first grand-daughter Melitta was born. Melitta was Suze’s pride and joy and even as her conditioned declined Melitta remained the only person who when addressing her grandma in French would be able to get a response from her. Suze battled Alzheimer’s for almost 14 years, practically doubling the life expectancy of 7 years told by doctors. Today we remember Suze for all the things that she was. A protective sister, a passionate mother, a loving grandmother but most of all an extraordinary woman of strength. May we continue to build from that strength and honor her legacy.
