Professor Gregoria Karides Suchy

Born to Eternal Life on Wednesday, October 3, 2018, age 94. Beloved wife of the late Prof. Raymond William Suchy. Loving mother of Dr. Jessica Ray Suchy-Pilalis (Labros E. Pilalis) of Camp Hill, PA and Potsdam, NY and Mara Ray (Mark Saigh) Suchy of Altadena, CA. Dear Yiayia of Ariana Rayne Heslen Saigh and Alexia Gregoria Noura Saigh. Sister of the late Peter Karides and sister-in-law of Toula Karides. Aunt of Vivian Anton (Peter) Limberatos, Nicholas P. (JoAnne) Anton, Marlene Karides (Charles) Ego, and Steven (Julia Laschen) Karides. Godmother of Alexander N. Anton and Glenn Fischbach. Also loved by grandnieces, grandnephews, other relatives, and friends.

She was Professor Emerita of Composition and Music Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Born and raised in Milwaukee, she attended the Girls Trades and Technical High and graduated from Milwaukee State Teachers College’s Department of Music in 1945. The same year, she began teaching at MSTC (predecessor of UWM).  She studied composition with Anthony Donato, Alexander Tcherepnin, Rudolph Ganz and Ralph Shapey. Her ballet score, Skins and Exposures, is thought to have been the first electronic music composition in the state of Wisconsin. The recipient of numerous grants for composition, her musical output covers a variety of media and genres from solo/chamber music to pieces for orchestra and jazz band. Her works, many of which have received awards and prizes, have been performed and/or recorded by eminent artists and groups including the New York Contemporary Chamber Ensemble; the International Society of Contemporary Music; Society of Composers, Inc., Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (American Composers Festival); and the National Association of Composers-USA. Often, her compositions revealed her Hellenic heritage, such Greek Rhapsody for orchestra that was featured at a concert in honor of the 2010 Boston Marathon. In 1998, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee honored her by showcasing her compositions in a tribute concert dedicated to her creative achievements and established the Gregoria Karides Suchy Scholarship for Composition/Music Technology in recognition of her fifty-six years of exceptional teaching.  In 2015, she was the recipient of  a UWM Distinguished Alumni Award.

Visitation at Krause Funeral Home, 21600 West Capitol Drive, Brookfield, Wisconsin on Friday, October 5^th, 2018 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM. Trisagion Service at 7:45 PM. Additional visitation at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church, 9400 West Congress Street, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin on Saturday, October 6, 2018, 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM. Funeral Service at 11:00 AM. Burial Pinelawn Memorial Park.

Memorials appreciated to Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church or the UWM Gregoria Karides Suchy Scholarship Fund.