Obituary of Suzanne Jane LaFleur

Suzanne J. LaFleur of Punta Gorda passed away Wednesday, February 23 at Tidewell Hospice in Port Charlotte. She was 73. She was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts to the late John and Anne Lancaster. Suzanne lived most of her life in Newburyport, Massachusetts before retiring and moving first to Lakeland in 1998 and then to Punta Gorda in 2001. With her husband, Paul, she opened the Caffe Ruelle in downtown Punta Gorda, a coffee house and wine bar. She was a graduate of Fisher College and held several management positions in marketing and training at John Hancock Financial Services in Boston until her retirement. She enjoyed her extraordinary extended family and her unstructured traveling throughout Europe, which she and her husband did often. She was a great supporter of St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. She leaves behind her husband, Paul, of Punta Gorda, a sister, Sharon Terry of California and a brother, John David Lancaster of New Hampshire. She also leaves behind four stepchildren, David and Michael of California, and Marc and Lauren of Massachusetts, plus 8 step-grandchildren, four step-great-grandchildren, a niece and two nephews. Arrangements were made by Charlotte Memorial Gardens. A memorial date has not yet been set.