Suzanne Gravelle O'Donoghue

Suzanne Gravelle O'Donoghue, 83, formerly of Darien, Connecticut, died peacefully in her sleep on Sunday, January 12, 2014 in Little Rock, Arkansas. Suzanne was born December 27, 1930 in Los Angeles, California to the late Edward Joseph and Florence Baze Gravelle. She is also preceded in death by her sister, Joan Gravelle, half-brother, Barnard Gravelle, and half-sister Helen Gravelle. Suzanne leaves behind three daughters: Patrice O'Donoghue (Roy Mellor) of Little Rock, Joan O'Donoghue Schaner (Andrew) of Stamford, Connecticut, and Elizabeth (Liz) O'Donoghue of Seattle, Washington. She was very proud of her five grandchildren: Emily Mellor, Timothy Mellor, Jesse Mellor, William (Billy) Schaner, and Samantha White. She also leaves behind several nieces and nephews. Married and later divorced from John Mackay O'Donoghue (deceased), Suzanne raised her family in Darien, Connecticut, where she made many lifelong friends. She was a member of Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien and especially enjoyed their Easter sunrise services at the beach. Suzanne was an interior designer and a skilled seamstress. She kept active playing tennis, sewing, antiquing, decorating homes and gardening. She was also a Girl Scout Brownie troop leader. Professionally she was employed at several area businesses. During her retirement in Little Rock, Suzanne was actively involved with Master Gardeners and took great pride in knowing the scientific names of the plants in their greenhouses and those she nurtured in her gardens at home. She was a member of Second Presbyterian Church where she volunteered at Acoustic Sounds Cafe, along with LifeQuest and SeniorNet. Travel was a passion for Suzanne. She made several cross-country road trips visiting good friends she kept in close contact with throughout her life. Her most cherished trips were an ElderHostel tour of English gardens in the UK and a SeniorNet cruise to Alaska. She also traveled to British Columbia, Bermuda, and Hawaii. Fiercely independent, Suzanne was an elegant, stylish woman who valued the beautiful things in life and had an uncanny knack for seeing the potential in a dusty antique or dingy oil painting and restoring them to their original glory. In her later life, worsening COPD kept her from enjoying some of her favorite activities. She also worked hard to cope with the advances of Alzheimer's dementia. The family wishes to express special thanks to her able medical team at the UAMS Thomas and Lyon Longevity Clinic, and sincere gratitude to the wonderful, caring, and capable staff at Presbyterian Village. A memorial service is planned for Suzanne at Presbyterian Village. Service times are pending. The family is also planning an additional celebration of Suzanne's life at a later date. The family requests that donations in memory of Suzanne be made to The Presbyterian Village Foundation, 510 N. Brookside Drive, Little Rock, Ark. 72205. http://www.presbyvillage.com/foundation-about.htm. To sign her guestbook, please visit www.arkansasfuneralcare.com. Arrangements made by Arkansas Funeral Care.