During her 90 years on this earth, Suzanne Briley Gimbrère lived her life to the fullest, with great curiosity and a passion for people of all stripes. She loved foreign cultures and languages and traveled extensively around the world until her later years. She had a great sense of empathy and an innate ability to help people solve their most complicated personal problems. Suzanne will always be remembered for her friendly personality, energy, drive, and enthusiasm for all that life offered. 

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Born in New York City in 1935 to Dorothy DeWolf and John Marshall Briley, Suzanne attended The Brearley School in New York City and high school in Rye, NY. While attending Stanford University, she fell in love with an intriguing and mysterious foreign graduate student, Rene Gimbrère. After she graduated, they were married on May 10, 1958, and remained together for 62 years until Rene’s passing on August 4, 2020.  

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After getting married, Suzanne moved to The Netherlands for one year to allow Rene to finish his master’s degree. Upon returning to the US, they initially settled in St. Louis, MO, where Suzanne & Rene would go out to the local bar to listen to an up & coming trumpeter named Louis Armstrong. In St. Louis, they started building their family, with the birth of Kathreen, Michael, and Marc. Shortly thereafter, in 1963, Suzanne and her family moved back to New York City, her place of birth and her favorite city in the whole world. During her time in New York City, they had a fourth child, Peter. While raising four children, Suzanne & Rene still found time to go to jazz clubs, throw formal & festive dinner parties, take weekend trips to Jones Beach and Bear Mountain, and spend the summer at Suzanne’s parents’ home in Perrysburg, OH. 

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In 1973, Suzanne and Rene moved to Riverside, CT. As her children grew older and less dependent, Suzanne was finally able to turn her time and energy towards other pursuits. She pursued and received a master’s degree in higher education from Columbia University; worked at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, as coordinator of the volunteers; started a local classical music group, The Goliard Chamber Orchestra; and went sailing every single possible day (for over 40 years) on Long Island Sound with Rene on their succession of larger sailboats, culminating in their beloved 25 foot Cape Dory. Avid sailors both, they would sail their boat all around the Long Island Sound and even traversed up the East River into New York Harbor. Suzanne was well known for her intricately planned and smoothly delivered gourmet meals that she would serve on the boat, regardless of the weather. She also enjoyed cruising with close friends down in Florida, up in Maine, and on Chesapeake Bay.  

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In 2015, after 42 years in Riverside, Suzanne and Rene retired from their incredibly active life in CT and moved to a senior living community in Bowie, Maryland, to be close to their youngest son and his family. As she was known to do, Suzanne threw herself into numerous activities at Collington while she still had her health. She sat on several committees, volunteered at the library, and made friends with numerous caregivers and staff. During her last years, even when she was wheelchair-bound, she would always stop to talk with the staff and, with a big infectious smile on her face, ask how they were and how their life was going. Suzanne and Rene also continued a tradition, started in New York City, of attending the Symphony and the Opera in nearby Washington, DC whenever they could. Suzanne also enjoyed traveling to Peter’s farm to spend holidays and birthdays with some of her grandchildren.

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On the morning of Sunday, October 12, after many months of declining health, Suzanne passed away peacefully in her own room. Suzanne was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Rene; her brother, John Marshall Briley; and her daughter, Kathreen. She asked that her ashes be distributed in the Puget Sound along with the ashes of Rene and Kathreen.

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Suzanne is survived by her brother, Michael Briley; her sister, Millicent Briley Bowerman; her sons, Michael, Marc, and Peter (Terri); and six grandchildren - Emma, Matthew, Cam, Oliver, Finn, and Tashi. 

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A few months before her passing, Suzanne became very fixated on a poem by Mary Elizabeth Frye that she wanted everyone to receive a personal copy of prior to her death. Although she ran out of time to handwrite them all, this is what was on her mind:

Do not stand at my grave and weep 

I am not there. I do not sleep. 

I am a thousand winds that blow. 

I am the diamond glints on snow. 

I am the sunlight on ripened grain. 

I am the gentle autumn rain. 

When you awaken in the morning's hush 

I am the swift uplifting rush 

Of quiet birds in circled flight. 

I am the soft stars that shine at night. 

Do not stand at my grave and cry; 

I am not there. I did not die.

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A celebration of the lives of both Suzanne and Rene Gimbrère will be held on Sunday, March 29th, from 2 pm to 5 pm at Auberge de Bonheur Hotel & Restaurant, Bredaseweg 441 5036 NA Tilburg (The Netherlands). A remote viewing link for those who cannot attend in person will be provided.