Suzanne Engelhorn Kovner

Suzanne Engelhorn Kovner, beloved mother (to so many), friend, sister, aunt and life of every party, passed away at home on June 19, 2020, surrounded by her daughters Lisa and Nina, her dogs Katie and Jaxon, and her grand pups Faith and Courage. She was 79 years old.

Suzanne lived life on her own terms, always cheering the people in her life and offering a helping hand when needed. Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1940 to Dorothy Engelhorn and Frederick Engelhorn, Suzanne graduated from Pine Crest School in Florida in 1958. From there, she did her Grand Tour of Europe before attending Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, where she earned an Associate Degree in English.

Next stop was Washington, D.C., where she took a secretarial job at the U.S. State Department in 1961 and met her best friends for life: Carla Warner Tinker, Sandra Woodson and Nancy Dewar. The girls met through a roommate-wanted ad in The Washington Post and remained friends for more than 60 years. Carla, her husband Gordon, and their daughters Andrea and Jill became a bonus family to Suzanne and her daughters.

Suzanne married Victor Kovner, a doctor from California, in August 1963. The young couple then moved to Caracas, Venezuela, where Dr. Kovner served as a Peace Corps Medical Officer. Suzanne and Vic traveled throughout South America, including Peru, Columbia, Ecuador and hopped a freighter to Aruba before their daughter Lisa was born in 1964. By 1965, they were living in Los Angeles, and were blessed with a second daughter, Nina, in 1966.

She became a full-fledged horse show Mom in 1973, with Lisa and Nina both competing with their horse and pony throughout Southern California. She was also a Camp Fire Girl troop leader, a volunteer with the Hidden Hills Horsemen as well as taught ESL and served as a teaching assistant for the Las Virgenes School District.

After her divorce from Vic, Suzanne returned to the Washington, D.C. area, where she worked for an independent insurance broker, Patterson and Associates (later Patterson/Smith), as an office manager.

Suzanne returned to California in 1982 when she married Commander Orelan Carden, USN Retired and began teaching ESL in the San Clemente School District. Several years later, she returned to the East coast and resumed working for Patterson and Associates, where she studied for her license and ultimately went on to sell and manage group policies for the firm after its acquisition by USI until her retirement in 2009.

Never one to sit for very long, Suzanne started working with one of her best friends, Priscilla Hottle, founder of Hottle & Associates in Warrenton, Virginia. She later worked for Alls Real Estate as its office manager. Upon retirement, Suzanne moved to Fallbrook, California to be closer to her daughters and to her best friends Carla and Gordon Tinker, where she also volunteered at the Angel Shop and the Fallbrook Library Bottom Shelf store.

One of Suzanne's great passions was travelling, meeting new people and experiencing different cultures. She visited virtually all of Europe, several South American countries and most of the United States, including several legendary long boat trips throughout the UK and France with the Tinkers and friends. Her most recent trip was to the Scottish Highlands and the Shetland Islands in September 2019, which included a visit with longtime friends Margaret and David Antcliffe.

Suzanne is survived by her daughters Lisa Kovner and Nina Kovner; her sisters Emmie Guild, Carol Smith, Leigh Lee and her husband, Jimmy Lee, and brothers Fred Engelhorn and John Engelhorn with his wife Beth Engelhorn, along with dozens of nieces and nephews. Suzanne's other sister, Ebby Edwards, passed away in 2018 and her stepmother, Ebby, passed in 2019.

A celebration of life will be held on the East Coast with her family in August 2021 along with a celebration on the West Coast, with a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, donations to Best Friends Animal Society or your local animal shelter are requested.

Suzanne's spirit, energy and unconditional love was one in a million. The world is much less bright without her. She will be forever missed...