Suzanne Marie (Hickman) Whitlock

5/18/1947 — 12/19/2024

• Send a Condolence

Suzanne Marie (Hickman) Whitlock was born May 18, 1947, to Wayne and Betty (Brown) Hickman in the original St. Joseph’s Hospital building. She peacefully slipped away at her home, in the early afternoon of Dec. 19, 2024. She was surrounded by her sweeties, Jeane and Wayne, her loving caregiver Julie Hoskins, and her two tuxedoed companions Liard and Atlin.

Suzanne attended Warner Elementary School, Jenifer Junior High and graduated from Lewiston High School with one of the largest classes it ever had. Yes, she was officially a “boomer,” but we thought she was pretty cool.

In March of 1966 Suzanne did one of the hardest things a woman could do in that era by becoming a single mother to a little girl, Jeanene Ann. Despite having a baby to care for, and with the help of her parents, she enrolled at Lewis-Clark Normal School in the fall of 1966, majoring in secondary education with an emphasis on English and art and a minor in chemistry, graduating in 1970.

In the fall of 1971 Suzanne and Jeane moved to Malad City, Idaho, to take a teaching position at the high school. She taught art and coached the cheer team. During that year she realized that teaching was not her passion, and she was very homesick, so she returned to Lewiston and took a position in the office of Omark (CCI/Speer).

In the spring of 1974 Suzanne was invited to a dinner party at a friend and co-worker’s (Carol and Dave Schwartz) home. There she met her soon-to-be husband, Daniel E. Whitlock. Dan went to high school and college with the Schwartzes and was visiting from California. It was love at first sight and two weeks later they were engaged to be married. Dan went back to California to resume his life and look for an apartment more suitable than his bachelor pad; while Suzanne and Jeane stayed in Idaho so Jeane could finish her second grade year at Warner Elementary and Suzanne could plan a wedding. On Aug. 10, 1974, they wed in a small but lovely backyard wedding on the brow of Normal Hill. Suzanne and Jeane wore dresses she had sewn herself. Simple flowered cotton, with tiny white daisies and silky ribbons. Her dress, blue; Jeane’s, green. She wore a wide-brimmed white summer hat with a matching blue ribbon, while Jeane wore her long dark hair pulled back and a crown of small flowers atop her head. Her mother made the bouquet, the corsages and boutonnieres. Her brother James played DJ from the porch roof. The cake was homemade by her grandma Brown. Dan’s uncle, Glen Whitlock, served as the officiant. The rings had been custom ordered — jade bands outlined in gold, the only problem? They didn’t arrive in time for the ceremony. Suzanne’s father, always the problem solver, provided the band off his Roi-Tan cigar and Dan borrowed a ring from a friend. Three days later they had a U-Haul packed with all of Suzanne and Jeane’s belongings, including Friskie the cat. And at that, the next chapter of their lives had begun.

While living in San Francisco, Suzanne filled her time by taking art classes at City College of San Francisco and subbing at schools across the city. Since Dan was working full time, taking law classes on weeknights, and studying on weekends, Suzanne and Jeane explored the city. The vast differences between the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley and the San Francisco Bay area were at times scary, but also quite exciting. Some of their favorite places and things to do were Golden Gate Park and all it had to offer, all the museums they could find, the Embarcadero, Fisherman’s Warf and trying foods from different cultures and the best Ice cream shop in the U.S., Fenton’s, in Oakland. Suzanne also took this time to learn to drive and park on the congested/hilly streets and freeways. During their stay in San Francisco, they bought their first home in the Mission District.

In 1976 they decided that they would like to raise their children in a smaller and safer community, so they sold their house and moved inland to Modesto, Calif. Dan’s mother and sister were also living there, so they had family support. During that year, Dan formerly adopted Jeane, and they welcomed their son Wayne to the family early Halloween morning.

As Dan was finishing up his law degree and interning at a local attorney’s office, Suzanne took a job with the Stanislaus County assessor’s office inspecting homes. She worked for them for several years, until Dan had a need in his practice for a secretary and legal assistant. While working in the office she realized that she enjoyed the work and was good at it, so why not get paid for it. In 1985, at nearly 40 years old, she went back to school to earn her Juris Doctorate specializing in family law. She attended Humphrey’s School of Law, in Stockton, Calif., the same school Dan graduated from. Always being an excellent student and enjoying the challenge research provided, she excelled, earning herself the top spot in her class and serving as valedictorian of the graduating class of 1988. She completed the bar that fall/winter and in 1999, joined Dan in business at Whitlock and Whitlock. With a couple years of experience under her belt, she took additional classes to earn her endorsement as a certified family law specialist.

During her time as an attorney Suzanne began to realize that the county court had a big problem with judge’s time being taken up by cases that didn’t have attorney supervision, which often led to significant delays in cases moving through the system. She began to look around the state at how other counties addressed this problem. She learned that many counties had an office of Court Facilitators. These offices provided legal assistance, but not representation, to individuals who were moving through the system without assistance. They advised on choosing the correct forms, filling them out, filing them with the court, and any addition requirements to efficiently move through the system. In 1998, Suzanne began to talk to the district judges about how opening one of these offices in their county would save them time, money and frustration, allowing their caseloads to ease. Once she had them onboard, she took it to the county. Later that year she opened an office in the court building. She held this position until 2008 when she retired.

Suzanne was not only highly intelligent but also extremely creative. Her imagination and talent were unlimited. From an early age, Suzanne showed a great talent and love for art. Drawing and painting came naturally to her. Her creativity influenced every aspect of her life. From oil paintings to full size wall murals, stained glass, elaborate quilts, craftsman style home decor, beautifully planned and landscaped yards, intricate miniature dolls and doll houses, she could do it all. She wasn’t just limited to doll houses, because she never met a house that she didn’t want to knock down walls and build new ones. In the early days, money was tight, so home projects were all done by the family. Suzanne’s father had been a carpenter and had taught his daughter some tricks of the trade. Her first home project involved me (Jeane) tearing the tile out of our new home’s bathroom with a crowbar; I was 10. For a while it seemed that every time we got the house “just right,” she had her eye on the next one (much to our dad’s dismay). When they moved back to Lewiston, Dan put his foot down, this would be his forever home.

Suzanne and Dan moved back to Lewiston after retirement in 2009. They had purchased a home on Normal Hill a few years earlier in anticipation of relocating to be near family when they were no longer working. The house was built in the early 1900s, was small and needed updating. So, Suzanne got to once again design and remodel a home. She loved the architecture of the original house but wanted to increase the size about two-fold, so she went about designing an extension that would complement the current structure. They worked with a local architectural firm and a local contractor to achieve her dream home. It took about a year of living in a construction zone, but the result was well worth the inconvenience. Once the interior of the home was complete, she went about designing a beautifully landscaped yard with too many plants and trees to keep count. Dan wasn’t much for remodeling, but he stained and sealed all the beautiful woodwork himself, saving them some money and taking pride in contributing to the project.

Suzanne and Dan loved to travel. They were able to visit nearly every state, missing just a handful. They also enjoyed international travel. In 2001 they took their granddaughter on a Mediterranean cruise that included stops in Greece and Turkey, for her high school graduation present. In 2015 they took a 21-day Baltic Sea cruise that included stops in St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen. They also visited France, Mexico and Canada. In the last few years, as their health prevented them from taking more rigorous vacations, they opted for spending time in the central coast towns of Pismo Beach and Morro Bay. They would go in January or February when it was cold at home, but quite nice there. The last three years, Jeane and Wayne accompanied them and were able to create some wonderful memories. We wish we could have had more family vacations with them. We felt extremely lucky to get that close family time as adults.

We would like to extend a deep gratitude to Julie Hoskins, who not only kept the house immaculate and provided nursing care for our mother, but also true compassion, dignity and love. That care kept her in her home safe and comfortable, where she wanted to be more than anything. We believe that without you, we would have lost her much sooner. Thank you for that.

Suzanne is preceded in death by her parents, granddaughter Beth Marie, and brother James. Her sweetheart Daniel joined her two months and two days later, on Feb. 21, 2025.

She is survived by her daughter Jeanene Hickman-Church, son-in-law Alex Church, son Wayne Whitlock and grandsons Joey and Joshua Church.

Friends and family are invited to their home at 302 Eighth Ave., from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, May 31. This will allow all to witness their individual and unique talents and interests. A light lunch and beverages will be provided. A family flag ceremony and burial will follow at 4 p.m. at the Genesee Community Cemetery.

Offer Condolences

Professional Service

✔ Since 1924
✔ Burial or Cremation Services
✔ Pre-Arranged Funeral Plans
✔ Web-Casting
✔ Modern Comfortable Facility
✔ Up-To-Date Audio/Video

Contact Information

The administrative offices are open Monday - Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday are by appointment only.