Suzanne (Suzie) Paula Horvath Larsen, 60, passed away Aug. 9, 2008, at Northern Montana Hospital after an illness she fought courageously for six years.
Memorial services celebrating the life of Suzanne Larsen will be held Friday, Aug. 15, 2008, at 11 a.m. at the First Lutheran Church in Havre. Burial will follow at the Cavalry Cemetery. A fellowship luncheon will be held immediately after the graveside service at the chuch. Memorials can be made to the Gift of Life, P.O. Box 7008, Great Falls, MT 59405, or to the Montana Chapter of the American Cancer Society, 550 N. 31st St., Ste. 103, Billings, MT 59101. Services and arrangements have been entrusted to Holland & Bonine Funeral Home. Suzanne was born on July 6, 1948, the only child of Laszlo and Eva Horvath in Vasvar, Hungary. In November of 1956, Suzie escaped with her parents from Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution. She and her family made their way to Billings in January 1958. Suzie moved to Havre in 1965 and graduated from Havre High School in 1967. She attended Northern Montana College and graduated in 1971 with a bachelors degree in history and English. She returned to Northern to further her education and received her degree in elementary education in 1975. Suzie married Ron Larsen on July 17, 1976. Their daughter, Meagan, was born in 1981 and their son, Tyler, followed in 1985. They lived on the family farm in Rudyard until 1988 when they moved to Havre. Suzie’s teaching career included positions in Fromberg, Inverness, Havre Middle School and most recently fifth grade at Sunnyside in Havre. She was an active member of the First Lutheran Church in Havre, serving on the Fellowship and Christian Education boards along with teaching Sunday school for thirteen years. Suzie was a past member of the MSU-Northern Alumni board, W.I.F.E. Women Involved in Farm Economics and numerous other organizations. Suzie loved teaching and was a nurturing, caring teacher. She wanted all of her students to excel and believed in the talents of each and every one of them. She believed teaching was a privilege and an honor. Suzie kept in touch with many of her former students as they moved from elementary to high school and finally out into the world. Their love, care, and support helped her through many difficult days of her illness. In October 2002, she was diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer and bone cancer. Even so, she continued teaching into May 2008. She went through continuous chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, but continued on as her chosen career gave her a sense of inner peace and focus. Her hobbies included walking, yoga, reading, traveling, visiting with her many friends, collecting rocks, home decorating and embroidery work. She loved music and dancing. Her passion was gardening. She lovingly tended her flowers in Havre and at the farm. She added new varieties of flowers and read many books on the subject, keeping updated. She loved to share her gardening knowledge and plants with her friends. She spent many hours in her garden just observing and spending peaceful time there. Suzie participated in every cancer awareness and fundraiser that she could. She walked in the Susan Komen Race for the Cure in Helena, played golf in the Hi-Line Breast Cancer golf tournament, and was a regular in the survivor lap for the Relay for Life. Suzie’s life was full, first with her family and faith in God, her friends, and her teaching career. She was preceded in death by her grandparents in 1971, her father-in-law in 1988, and her beloved father in 1997. She is survived by her husband, Ron of Havre; daughter, Meagan of Missoula; son, Tyler of Havre; mother, Eva Horvath of Havre; aunt and uncle, Alex and Vilma Reich of Billings; cousins, Erika (Leon) Giles of Seattle and Judy (Roger) Rothrock of Portland, Ore.; and her many friends and students she taught and loved.
