Susannah Field from 1977 to 2013, by her twin brother, Bill.

 After leaving Ulverstone High, Susannah attended Don College for two years and was successful with her application for nursing training at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. The training was to start at the end of 1980 which left her with what we now call a gap year. By then the quiet little schoolgirl had matured into quite a party girl. In fact she won an award at the end of her second year at Don. No, nothing academic, it was Flirt of the Year. Her plan was to spend the year hanging out at the Surf Club beach in summer, Ben Lomond in winter and continue the part time jobs at the Red Grasshopper pizza shop and the Black Angus steak house. Our parents had different ideas. They insisted she use her time wisely and keep her education going. So went to at Devonport TAFE for  the one year secretarial course to learning typing and office skills. At the time she could see no value at all in this and basically bludged through the course much to the annoyance of Mum who was one of her teachers there. More on this later.

The move to busy Melbourne as an 18 year old from Ulverstone was difficult at first, she left a sweetheart behind but soon settled into the nurse training, study and more importantly the social life of the big city. The River Arms and the Elimatta were a world away from Inflations, the Tok H and the other bright lights of Melbourne’s nightclubs. She met a really nice bunch of trainee nurses that year, many of whom became her lifelong friends.

After graduating in 1984 she bought a one way Aeroflot ticket to Zurich via Russia, which in those days was a cheap but the long way to get to Europe. There were several stops en route including a supervised overnight stopover in communist Moscow. The supervision turned out to be that everyone was escorted at all times by armed soldiers. After some months of backpacking through Switzerland, France, UK and Italy she settled in for a summer of casual work on the Greek island of Corfu. She looked around for work and found that the ‘stupid’ typing that her parents had insisted she learn actually came in very handy when she landed a job in a travel agency.  Not surprisingly, the local young Greek men payed much attention to this fun loving bronzed Aussie chick and she soon found herself in what was to be a five year relationship with one of the young charmers, Sotiris Lefkaditis. (what a great name) Susannah added another one of her passions to her resume, cooking. Sotiris mother taught her Greek cuisine and before long S & S took over a traditional tavern catering mainly for the locals. With a charcoal grill, cocktail bar and outdoor dining, this little enterprise kept them busy for more than four years.

She returned to Melbourne (without Sotiris) in 1990 and went back to her nursing career. 1994 saw her married and soon after, they made a sea change move from busy St Kilda to 10 acres at Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula, an area well known for its beaches, boutique farms and wineries. They lived there for 15 years with their girls Bonnie and Micah and step daughter Hannah. Susannah was a fantastic mother and was also the main breadwinner for the family. She always put herself last and worked tirelessly on the nursing shift roster while holding the family together through a difficult marriage which ended in 2011.

She bought a nice renovated beach cottage for herself and the girls at nearby Balnarrring. She settled in there and just loved her cooking and vegetable garden. Her generosity helping others was another dominant characteristic of her personality. She completed the 100km Oxfam walk several times to raise money for charity. Ever walked 100 km non-stop? It is a huge feat for anyone but is a major fundraiser. She was always more concerned about the wellbeing of others than her own comfort. Even with a heavy domestic workload she still found time to cook huge pots of soup for the underprivileged children who were sent to school without lunch. Through the lean years of the marriage she somehow managed to save a few pennies for family holidays to destinations including Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Wilsons Promontory and to Mt Buller for ski weekends. But her favourite escape was to return to was the family home in Ulverstone. She recharged herself with big long sleeps in her old bedroom, walks along the beach, home cooked dinners with Mum and Dad and catching up with old friends.

In late 2012 Susannah was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. She passed away in February 2013. A funeral was held near her home which was attended by more than 60 of her nurse friends along with several hundred family and friends. A few days later, we had a memorial service in Ulverstone. Strange things happen in this world but during this time we were packing up the last of our parent’s estate but thankfully we were able to have her memorial service in a place she loved, in the garden of our family home of 44 years. The next day we handed the keys over to the new owners of the property.   

Later we had a small ceremony to farewell her and our parents on a small beach at Dove Lake. Their ashes were scattered at that special place where our family visited every year since 1964.

So sadly missed. 

Bill Field