Obituary: Suzanne Helen Schwab Torok, 92, Of Fairfield

The following obituary is from Shaughnessey Banks Funeral Home:

Suzanne Helen Schwab Torok, of Fairfield, passed peacefully on May 8, 2024, at the age of 92.
Sue will be best remembered as a loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend; a gentle woman
of quiet, yet determined strength, lightly peppered with an independent streak, and a sense of
adventure.

She was born August 11, 1931, at Wesley Memorial Hospital in Chicago, IL to the late John J.
Schwab and Catherine Tunison Schwab. After her father joined the family business, Schwab
Paper Products Co, the family moved to Western Springs, IL which at that time, she remembered
as being at the edge of the prairie. Her family were faithful members of All Saints Episcopal
Church. As members of Edgewood Valley Country Club, she, her brother and sister became avid
golfers. Sue’s most cherished childhood interests included playing the piano and golf, which she
continued to enjoy for the rest of her life.

Sue graduated from Lyons Township High School in 1949. In a move that surprised her family,
she applied and was accepted to the University of Colorado, Boulder. While there, she learned
and fell in love with downhill skiing. Sue joined Pi Beta Phi Sorority and was elected sorority
president her senior year. She had fond memories of traveling to and from school by train during
those years. Sue graduated in 1953, with a B.A. in Sociology and returned to Western Springs. In
Chicago, Sue enrolled in the Moser School of Business to prepare herself for joining the business
workforce and was hired by Leo Burnett Advertising Co. as an executive secretary on the
Marlboro account.

Sue met her husband, Robert “Bob” Torok, while visiting her brother and sister-in-law at Marine
Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. After a two month whirlwind romance, Bob
asked Sue to marry him just before his scheduled departure for a one year deployment to Korea.
Upon his return, they were married September 29, 1956 in Western Springs. After his military
service, the happy couple moved to Connecticut, finally settling in Fairfield, to what would
become a beloved family residence on Samp Mortar Lake. Sue’s last residence was in Simsbury,
to be near and cared for, by her daughter, Sarah and son-in-law, Charlie.

Sue and Bob had four daughters over the course of 14 years. She was a caregiver at heart and the
hard work of motherhood, which she cherished and homemaker/manager, became her main
focus, since Bob traveled frequently throughout his career. Later in life, she also cared for her
widowed, elderly father and mother-in-law when they came to live with the family for months at
a time. Sue enjoyed pursing her interests and friendships through golfing in the women’s league,
playing bridge with neighbors and singing in the choir at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Sue
volunteered her time often both at church and school and served one year as president of the
PTA. Boating on Long Island Sound was a large part of Sue and Bob’s life; they were members
of Milford Yacht Club and Cedar Point Yacht Club. Winter activities included family ski trips in
New England. As a couple, they enjoyed entertaining friends and family in their home,
participating in bridge clubs, organizing neighborhood block parties and progressive dockside
dinner parties, vacationing on sailboats with friends, traveling around the world and making time
to visit those they loved. Sue’s quick wit, open and generous spirit and unconditional love and
support will be missed by all those who knew and loved her.

Sue is survived by her four loving daughters: Dori Clough (Paul), Catey Hale (Douglass), Sarah
Neagoy (Charlie) and Amy Carey (Ryan); grandchildren: Jessica Clough O’Reilly (Matt), Pam
Clough (Austin Jones); Graham (Emily), Alex and Elizabeth Hale; Grace and Evelyn Neagoy;
Grant and Ethan Carey; great-grandson, Finn O’Reilly; brother-in-law, Tony Harley; sister-in-
law, Mary Ann Torok Neiger (Edward), and many wonderful nieces and nephews.

In addition to her loving husband of 63 years, Sue is preceded in death by her brother, John
Schwab, Jr. and his wife Jeanne; sister, Dorothy Harley; sister-in-law Bernice Torok Huyser and
her husband Jan Huyser; and nephew, Jake Harley.

A Eucharist Service to celebrate Sue’s life will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 25, 2024,
at the Church of the Apostles, 2385 Park Ave. in Bridgeport, located within the Rodeph Sholom
Synagogue. Friends can greet her family from 12:00 p.m. until the time of service.

To sign her online guestbook, please visit www.shaughnesseybanks.com.