Dr. Suzette Evelyn Damboise
Help us celebrate Dr. Suzette! Please share your stories and photos, and invite others who remember Dr. Suzette.
Dr. Suzette Evelyn Damboise passed away on August 24, 2022, after a long and courageous battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Suzette was born on March 23, 1963, in Portland, Maine, and grew up in Falmouth, Maine. She was the daughter of Delwood Damboise and Barbara (Betty) Thiel Damboise. Suzette graduated from Falmouth High School in 1981, and Smith College in 1985 and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in 1990, fulfilling her lifelong ambition of becoming a doctor and caring for others. Following medical school, she completed an internship at the University of Maryland in Baltimore followed by a residency in Anesthesiology at Hospital Hartford. From 1994 through 2005, she was a faculty member at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and practiced at Parkland Hospital. She later moved to Longmeadow, Massachusetts to be closer to her extended family in New England. There, she joined Springfield Anesthesia at Baystate Medical Center where she worked until her retirement in 2013.
Suzette met her husband, Daniel Skiest, in 1984, when she spent her junior year at Dartmouth College. They quickly connected on their common interests of medicine, the outdoors and their New England roots. They married in 1991 and had two children, Hannah and Benjamin. There was nothing Suzette loved more than being a mom and was very proud of her children.
Growing up in Maine, she felt most at home on the ocean, taking frequent sailing trips with her family and later in life, fell in love with the beauty of Cape Ann. Suzette loved the beauty of nature, whether it was cultivating her perennial flower garden or hiking one of New England's mountain ranges. When Suzette took an interest in something that she was passionate about, whether a hobby, an activity, or planning a trip, she jumped in with both feet and left no stone unturned. She also loved to travel with her family and close friends, especially enjoying trips to Vancouver, the Canadian Rockies and Acadia National Park in Maine.
Despite being diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's following her retirement, Suzette continued to embrace life fully. She continued to travel with her family and became a more avid hiker, frequently summiting peaks in the Presidential Range in the White Mountains. She was able to devote more time to gardening and enjoy quality time with her supportive network of family and friends.
Suzette was pre-deceased by her father, Delwood Damboise. She is survived by her beloved husband, Dr. Daniel Skiest of Longmeadow, and her children, Hannah and Benjamin, her mother Barbara Damboise of Falmouth, Maine, her sister Michelle Damboise of Portland, Maine and brother, David Damboise and his wife Shauna of Yarmouth, Maine. She leaves her sister-in-law, Jody Skiest and her husband Gregg Jacobs of Westport, Connecticut, sister-in-law Nancy Skiest and Robert Kiesel of Chappaqua, New York and her nieces Madelyn Damboise, Amelia Damboise, Lauren Jacobs and Olivia Andrews, and her nephews Jake Damboise, Andrew Jacobs and Zachary Andrews. She also leaves her father-in-law and mother-in-law, Eugene and Carol Skiest of Lunenberg, Massachusetts.
The family would like to extend their heartfelt appreciation to the staff at The Atrium in Agawam, and Baystate Hospice, for their compassionate care. A memorial service for Suzette will take place on Sunday August 28th at 11 am at Sinai Temple in Springfield, Mass. Following the service, the family invites mourners to their home in Longmeadow.
Donations in Suzette's memory can be made to The Alzheimer's Association at alz.org. The Ascher-Zimmerman Funeral Home is helping the family.