Although Suzanne Marie Hess arrived in the United States in 1946 as a French war bride, she considered herself to be an American.
"Shortly after Mom arrived from France and married Dad (Harry Wilson), they made their home in White Oak. She spent hours in the McKeesport Library reading books to help her learn her English," said her daughter, Linda Merschat of North Versailles.
Suzanne Marie Hess Wilson Mainwaring of White Oak, died on Wednesday, May 21, 2008, in UPMC Presbyterian in Oakland. She was 81.
"Once my mother learned English, she never spoke French again," her daughter added. "She often said she married an American, and this was her country.
"And even though our families gave her the opportunity to visit France and see her relatives and friends, she was glad to be back in the United States, the country that she came to love," her daughter added.
Born in Paris and raised in Bondy, France, Suzanne Hess was one of six children in the family of Emile and Laure Nortier Hess. Her father, a valve control expert, built the house in which she was raised. She met Wilson when his Army unit was camped near her home in Bondy during World War II, said Merschat.
"Both Mom and Dad said it was love at first sight. There was little food, and Dad would convince the camp's cooks to give him sandwiches, which he took to Mom's family."
William Wilson of Greensburg said his father's outfit was sent to Belgium to participate in the Battle of the Bulge. After the couple was reunited once the fighting was over, Wilson said, his father convinced his mother's parents to allow them to marry and live in the United States.
Prior to her arrival in the United States, Miss Hess was employed as a teletype operator for the French Free Press, which became a part of United Press International after the liberation of Paris.
Harry Wilson died in 1974. Suzanne Wilson married Kenneth Mainwaring two years later. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
Linda Merschat recalled her mother's devotion to her Roman Catholic faith and her popularity with all those who knew her.
"My mother was a kind and gentle person who was always ready to lend a hand to anyone who had a need," Merschat said
And despite her battle with breast cancer, which she won, and later with lung cancer, which she successfully battled, Mrs. Mainwaring devoted her life to caring for her husbands, raising her children and enjoying her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren, her family recalled.
In addition to her daughter, Linda, and son, William, Mrs. Mainwaring is survived by a son, Michel "Bubba" Wilson of La Verne, Calif.; a stepdaughter, Margie Quillan of Gate City, Va.; eight grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren, and a sister, Jacqueline Belaguer of France.
She was preceded in death by her husbands, Harry Wilson in 1974 and Kenneth Mainwaring in 1997, and four brothers.
Visitation is from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Jaycox-Jaworski Funeral Home Inc., 2703 O'Neil Blvd., McKeesport.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday in St. Angela Merici Church, White Oak, with the Rev. Stephen Chervenak as celebrant.
Interment will be in Good Shepherd Cemetery, Monroeville.
