Jacqui Suff

Jacqueline Alexandra "Jacqui" Suff, 48, of Bozeman, Montana, passed away, Sunday morning, August 21st, 2016. A funeral service of remembrance will be held 2:00 P.M. on Thursday the 8th at the Franzen-Davis Chapel, 118 North 3rd St., Livingston; a reception and further celebration of Jacquis life will follow the service, 3:30 P.M. at the Baxter Hotel, Grand Ballroom, in Bozeman. Memorials are preferred in lieu of flowers to: The American Cancer Society or ASPCA, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or the World Wildlife Fund or the Heart of the Valley Animal Shelter, 1549 East Cameron Bridge Rd, Belgrade, MT 59714 or Stafford Animal Shelter, 3 Business Park Road, Livingston, MT 59047. Arrangements are under the care of Franzen-Davis Funeral Home and Crematory. "Dog loving, amateur chef, would be rock star, living the dream in Bozeman, MT!!" At 10.20pm on 06 February 1968, Jacqui, quite literally, popped into the world, born in just 20 minutes in her grandmothers front room in Hereford, a daughter to Mike and Heather and a sister to Matthew. Jacqui was a talker, rather than a walker, a trait she carried with her for the rest of her life. A life that was filled with friends, adventure, music and laughter and lived at the same pace with which she had entered the world. Early years were spent in Stourport, before the family moved to Yorkshire when Jacqui was three. She attended a local primary school, loved the countryside and had her own pony, which she kindly let Heather look after. Aged eleven, the ever-independent Jacqui insisted on being sent to boarding school. She duly packed her trunk for Casterton School, Lancashire, embracing her Enid Blyton inspired school days. Lack of application to her studies resulted in Mike and Heather moving her to a local school for A levels. Jacqui was somewhat horrified by the change in culture, but given her exuberant nature soon made many friends. She was offered a place at The Fame Academy, Manchester, but disappointing results saw her, instead, take a course in Media Studies at Ealing College. Subsequently, Jacqui temped for a number of companies, including Viz and Pizza Express and was inevitably offered permanent positions wherever she went. During Jacquis sixth form years, Matt was reading English at Christs College, Cambridge. Jacqui happily participated in his life in academia by taking full advantage of the student scene, including The May Ball. It was there that she met her soul mate Josh, who has been a lifelong friend to all the family ever since. Following Mikes early retirement, aged 48, the Suffs moved down to Cornwall, where they purchased a house with holiday rental cottages. Jacqui wanted to join them, but didnt drive. The necessity for a car saw a determined Jacqui pass her driving test within six weeks. Apart from work, Cornwall was full of fun, fancy-dress parties and friends coming to stay, mainly for the weekend, although Josh joined them for a year! Eventually Jacqui moved back to Balham, London, and Mike and Heather set off for a new life in Hay-on-Wye, where weekends with friends at the family home were still on the agenda, usually accompanied by jazz, singing, fireworks, Mikes fantastic, Italian-inspired cooking and plenty of red wine. Jacqui began working for BZW, where she met Kim, her kindred spirit and partner in crime. Spare time in Balham mainly revolved around cooking, music, friends, late nights at The Swan, Stockwell (where she always managed a cameo singing appearance with the band), and rugby, researched by partying with the boys from London Welsh Rugby Club. Work-wise, Jacqui moved with her boss to DLJ. It was obvious that Jacqui was not stretched in her position as Financial Assistant, so Alistair encouraged her to train as a Supervisory Analyst. Her determination to succeed saw her pass a stringent set of exams and move to UBS, shortly followed by another to Deutsche Bank. Jacquis burgeoning love of country music persuaded her to take a holiday on a working ranch in Wyoming, where she could satisfy her whims for horses, country and cowboys! She returned from her holiday, totally awestruck by her experience, which proved to be the catalyst for her American odyssey. After additional ranch holidays in the US, she hatched a plan that would see her negotiate a move to New York with Deutsche. Jacqui took up residence in the meat packing district in NYC, working and playing hard. However, she realised that living there was just a staging post for an eventual move to Montana. After applying pressure to her bosses at Deutsche, she eventually got her wish and was allowed to work from home and moved to a new house just outside Bozeman. Being keen to hang on to her British roots, she kept her English accent and purchased her first British Bulldog, Lulu. In true Jacqui style, she didnt rest on her laurels and still successfully pursued her career, becoming Global Head, Supervisory Analyst Group, at Deutsche Bank, which gave her the opportunity to travel the world. Meanwhile, life in Bozeman was everything Jacqui could have wished for. She loved it! The Big Sky countryside, horses, country music, cabin visits and the shops! She also achieved her life-long aim of being in a band, Citizen Jack. She received many visitors, all who could see how happy and settled she was, most notably Kim, who helped her embrace the local culture! Her last trip to the UK was to celebrate Heathers 75th birthday, a wonderful trip where she seemed truly content with life, more than ever before. Jacqui left this world as hurriedly as shed entered it. A shock to us all and a sad reminder, that following her philosophy of living life to the full is a goal worth pursuing. Our thoughts today are also with Daves family and her great friend Kim. Im sure we will all hold this exuberant, funny, talented, big-hearted (occasionally tricky) girl in our thoughts for ever more. I can see Jacqui now, perched up on a cloud somewhere, bedecked in a very glamorous halo and wings, with a mischievous look on her face. Shes sitting beside her beloved dad and theyre raising their glasses, as they slug down a very nice bottle (or two) of Brunello di Montalcino!