August 2 2017: SUNTUM, Eleanor

ELEANOR C. SUNTUM (AGE 97)

Eleanor C. Suntum, 97, a longtime resident of Takoma Park, died peacefully in her sleep on July 31.

Born in Yonkers, NY, to Irish immigrant parents, Eleanor graduated from the College of Mount St. Vincent in 1941.  She served with the American Red Cross in Italy in World War II where she met her husband, Jim, a first lieutenant in the Italian campaign.  They married in 1946 and returned to the United States to begin their married life in Colorado.  Jim died in 1993 of leukemia.

Jim and Eleanor moved to Washington, D.C. in 1959 and settled in Takoma Park where they raised 11 children.  She worked in several positions around the Washington, D.C. area while studying for her MBA, which she earned in 1975.

Mrs. Suntum is survived by her children: Rev. James, Moira Joan, Peggy, Eleanor, Phyllis (Jim), EvaMarie (Mark), Joseph (Joan), George, Lucy (Joe), Virginia (Sean), and daughters-in-law Colette and Gigi.  A son, Christopher, died in 2008 of a brain tumor.  Also in her legacy, she leaves many grandchildren and great-grandchildren: Jason (Theresa, Madden, Ava), Sean (Emily, Elle Rose, Mina, James), Katie, John, Evan (Emily, Charlotte, Claire),Kyle, Ellen Marie, Garrett (Kathy), Wyatt, Tara (Tim), Whitney (Robbie, Riley), Casey, Olivia, Luke, Clara, Emmett, Gracelin, and Jake.  She is also survived by many cherished nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Friday at Holy Family Seminary, 401 Randolph Road, Silver Spring, MD 20904 with burial in Gate of Heaven Cemetery.

The family suggests memorial contributions to the Holy Family Seminary,  or to Montgomery Hospice,1355 Piccard Drive, Suite 100, Rockville, MD  20850.