Obituary of Suzanne Tatariw

Suzanne J. Tatariw (née Jack) of Oak Hill, Virginia, died peacefully on Wednesday, October 28, 2020 at INOVA Fairfax Hospital with her husband Ron by her side.
Born in Bethesda, MD on February 11, 1955 to Earl and Joanne Jack, she had celebrated the 25th anniversary of her 40th birthday this year. As the daughter of a Navy pilot, she was accustomed to frequent moves. She loved to tell stories about attending kindergarten in a one room schoolhouse in Hawaii, running wild on Treasure Island in San Francisco, and barrel racing in Colorado. She graduated from Colorado State University with a B.S. in Business Administration in 1977. She met her husband Ron Tatariw in Summit County, CO, in 1978, where she worked for the Town of Breckenridge. While she loved life in Colorado, she loved Ron more; they eloped to Charleston, SC, in 1983 and began a new era of moves, going from Colorado to South Carolina to New York and ultimately, Virginia. They have two children, Corianne and Jonathan. She was in the truest sense of the word a homemaker, especially as she managed to embrace the quirks and challenges of each house she lived in, such as, finding a black snake under the kitchen sink in Greenville and battling giant flies in a haunted Poughkeepsie farmhouse. Much like the ticking of her beloved antique clock collection, her love and energy were the pulse of the household.
Suzanne was the foundation of her family and was closely involved in each of their lives. She was also an entrepreneur and leader in her community. She was a constant presence at her children’s schools in New York and Virginia, serving many roles, including PTA board member (president, VP and committee chairs) room mom, chaperone, copy room manager and scout leader. Although she denied that she was creative, she found endless ways to recruit and motivate volunteers for service and fundraising projects for both schools and scouts. After waking up with the kids at 5:45 AM for the high school bus, Suzanne was entitled to sleep in some. Instead, however, she used her leadership and organizational abilities to build a business in 2007 that specialized in cleaning secured facilities. As president of Tatariw Inc., she wanted to be the kind of employer that she would want to work for and loved showing her appreciation for her employees.
Suzanne found community wherever she lived and worked, forming lifelong friendships in Breckinridge, North Myrtle Beach, Greenville, Wappingers Falls, and Oak Hill. She loved throwing her annual Christmas party, a tradition that started in 1990, scouting out white elephant gifts months in advance. An art and history enthusiast, she reveled in being close to so many museums and national landmarks in northern Virginia and Washington, DC. She also embraced traveling, especially after retirement, and used it as an opportunity to spend time with Ron, her adult children, and her brother, Steve, and his family.
She is survived by her husband of 37 years, Ron Tatariw, of Oak Hill, VA; her daughter Corianne Tatariw, of Tuscaloosa, AL; her son Jonathan I. Tatariw of Reston, VA; and her brother Steven W. Jack of Centennial, CO. A Celebration of Life will be held when the risk of COVID-19 has passed. Memorial contributions may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.