Remembering Suzanne Raynal Gijsbers

Age 93, Michigan
Passed away on April 21, 2020

Suzanne Raynal Gijsbers died peacefully Tuesday, April 21, 2020, after a short hospital stay, from the coronavirus. Suzanne was born Aug. 1, 1926, in Epernay, France. She was raised in Reims, where her mother owned a small neighborhood dry goods store. An athletic child, Suzanne enjoyed bicycling, playing tennis and basketball and running track. In May 1940, she and her mother evacuated Reims with little notice as the Nazis were just outside the city and advancing quickly. They left with only the few belongings they could carry and squeezed into the last two spots in a cattle car already occupied by 80 people. They traveled three days as the German Luftwaffe strafed the train. Dropped off in Niort, they were offered shelter by volunteer families who came forward and welcomed them. Suzanne and her mother, last off the train, sheltered with the mayor and his family; Suzanne maintained contact with them throughout her life. She and her mother returned to Reims several months later when the Vichy government was formed; they remained in Reims until World War II ended.

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