In Memoriam Suzi Peel Messick (LGB, 1973), former student and former teacher at La Grande Boissière
We are deeply saddened to share the news of the passing of Susan (Suzi) Peel Messick (LGB, 1973) on 5 March 2025. Suzi studied at Ecolint and also taught history, and geography in the Middle School of La Grande Boissière in the 1990's. She was also an active member of the alumni community of the Washington DC area.
Susan (Suzi) Peel Messick of Cordova, Maryland, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, surrounded by her loved ones. She was a loving wife, mother, and friend and will be deeply missed. Suzi was best known for her boundless kindness and compassion for others.
Suzi was born on September 17, 1955, in Greenwich Village, New York, to Francis (Frank) Peel, an attorney, and Jane Zielonko Peel, a Slavic scholar, adviser to Radio Free Europe, and translator of The Captive Mind by Nobel Prize-winning author Czesław Miłosz.
In 1957, Suzi and her parents moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where her father became Chief of Planning for the United Nations International Labor Organization. While in Geneva, Suzi became an avid scholar of languages, becoming bilingual in French and English, adept in Polish and Italian, and proficient in German and Russian. She graduated from high school at École Internationale de Genève (the International School of Geneva) and later attended the University of Geneva.
Following her education, Suzi taught history, geography, and English in Geneva’s public schools as well as at the International School of Geneva.
A Life Dedicated to Public Health and Advocacy
With the advent of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the 1980s, Suzi dedicated herself to destigmatizing the disease and educating young people on its impact. She became certified in Community Health at Geneva University and went on to serve as Program Director for the 12th World AIDS Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, and the 13th International Conference on HIV/AIDS in Nairobi, Kenya.
In 1999, after 42 years in Geneva, Suzi moved with her daughters to Cambridge, MA, where she served on the board of directors and as CEO of various foundations advocating for public health and the protection of children—particularly those in Sub-Saharan Africa who had been orphaned by AIDS. In Washington, DC, she worked as Program Director for the World Health International East Africa Program for HIV/AIDS. She also collaborated with USAID and built partnerships with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wellcome Trust, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Over the course of her career, Suzi traveled to Africa more than 40 times.
In 2012, Suzi moved to the Easton, Maryland area, where she managed the Eastern Shore Affordable Care Act and Medicaid Outreach Program, helping to educate and enroll individuals in healthcare programs. Locally, she served as a Stephen Minister at Christ Episcopal Church in Easton and volunteered with the Talbot Hospice Foundation, working to reframe hospice care as a source of comfort, acceptance, and compassion at life’s end.
Spirituality, Writing, and Legacy
In June 2021, Suzi was ordained as an Interfaith/Interspiritual Minister, dedicated to supporting those facing end-of-life challenges. She was also a poetry editor, writing coach, and author. Her memoir detailed the profound influence of her grandfather, Maurice Perlzweig, a British Reform Rabbi and a founding member of the World Jewish Congress, where he advocated for social justice and human rights in the wake of World War II.
After decades of caring for and serving others, Suzi received the loving care and support of her husband, family, and friends, in conjunction with the Talbot Home Hospice Care Program.
Suzi is survived by her husband, Robert Messick of Cordova, MD, and her daughters, Julia Farah Warczyk of Mexico, and Ania Warczyk Payne of Nashville, TN.
Celebration of Life
A Celebration of Suzi’s Life will be held on April 26, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. ET USA. The Celebration will be conducted at our farm located at 29316 Dogwood View Road, Cordova, Maryland 21625, USA. If you wish to attend, please REPLY by email to [email protected] indicating whether you will be attending in person at the farm, or by ZOOM.
For planning purposes, PLEASE REPLY BY MARCH 30th.
If you REPLY that you will be personally attending at the farm, directions to the farm will be emailed to you approximately one week in advance. If you REPLY that you wish to attend and participate via ZOOM, instructions for attending the Zoom session will be emailed to you at least one week in advance.
Whether you attend in person or via Zoom, you are encouraged to share your memories and stories about Suzi at the ceremony. As a gesture to help Suzi along her journey, attendees are encouraged to bring a private written message to Suzi to be offered into an on-site open fire.