Suzanne Devine Moore

Born on July 27, 1938, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to the late James T. Devine and Patricia Gerathy-Devine, Suzanne was a woman of remarkable spirit, boundless energy, and unwavering determination from her earliest years.

She attended Blessed Sacrament Grade School in Madison, Wisconsin, where at the age of nine she discovered two passions that would define her youth: horses and ice skating. Suzanne's love of horses began with a Palomino named "Chico," whom she persuaded her parents to purchase at an auction block for a mere forty-eight dollars. She cared for the horse in her family's garage, and her dedication to riding and training quickly proved extraordinary. By 1951, she had earned the title of Chicago International Horse Show Children's Horsemanship Champion, claimed the Tri-State Horseman's Association Western Equitation Championship in both 1951 and 1952, and won the 1951 Wisconsin Horse Association Junior Equitation Saddle Seat Championship.

Equally formidable on ice, Suzanne was the Madison City Speed Skating Champion four consecutive years, from 1948 through 1951, in her respective age groups.

Her accomplishments only grew from there. In 1952, at age thirteen, she represented the Midwest at the Grand National Horse Show at Pan-Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. In January 1953, at just fourteen years old, Suzanne rode her Palomino stallion "Meadow Gold Joey" in President Dwight Eisenhower's inaugural parade. As she approached the President's reviewing stand, she veered off course, pulled out a fake gun that dropped a banner reading "Good Luck Ike! God Bless You!" President Eisenhower, startled for a moment, whipped off his hat, broke into his famous smile, and bent low in a bow as a thank you to the young horsewoman. She later rode Joey in two Pasadena Rose Bowl Parades in 1954 and 1955.

Suzanne attended Edgewood High School in Madison from 1952 to 1955 before enrolling at the University of Wisconsin in 1956. There she met James Rand Moore, and the two married in 1957. Together they raised five children, all of whom Suzanne directed toward horseback riding as a sport in their youth.

Her professional equestrian pursuits spanned an astonishing range of disciplines, including Saddle Seat Equitation, Western Horsemanship, Pleasure Driving, Hunt Seat Equitation, Show Hunters, Competitive Trail Riding, Endurance Riding, Fox Hunting, Combined Driving, Show Jumping, Dressage, and Eventing. She was actively involved in numerous horse organizations throughout her lifetime.

Beyond the arena, Suzanne cherished traveling the world with her beloved husband, and she held deep passions for historical architecture, interior design, antiques, and jazz music. Those who knew her would describe her as happy, kind, generous, and fiercely independent, a strong personality who was self-motivated, outspoken, and wonderfully opinionated, especially about horses. She was a devoted animal lover and a hard worker in everything she undertook.

A devout and God-fearing Catholic, Suzanne was an active member of St. Peter's Catholic Church in Monument, Colorado. Her faith was the foundation upon which she built her extraordinary life, and it sustained her through every chapter, including her final one.

Suzanne was preceded in death by her husband, James Rand Moore; her parents, James T. Devine and Patricia Gerathy-Devine; her brother, James T. Devine Jr.; and her sister, Patricia Devine Cleveland.

She is survived by her two daughters, Cynthia Moore West and Kathryn Moore Westman; her sons, David R. Moore, James W. Moore, and Brian E. Moore; as well as nine grandchildren, nine great grandchildren extended family and countless friends whose lives she touched.

In keeping with her wishes, no funeral services will be held. Her family members will be spreading her ashes with her late husband, James, in Monument, Colorado. The family would like to express their great appreciation for everyone's thoughts and prayers for Suzanne as she moves into Heaven. She was a firecracker while on this earth, and she went out with a bang of fireworks on the Fourth of July! May she be riding her favorite horse "Joey" again in heaven!

Donations can be made in her name to the Colorado Animal Humane Society.