Holly (Benisek) Sucic was born in
1971 and was raised with the philosophy that she could
be anything she wanted to be. The opportunity to
experience life in different regions around the country
further enhanced her values and choices. Her interest
in science was originally encouraged by an elementary
teacher in Colorado Springs, which ultimately led to her
earning dual degrees in Biology and Chemistry from
Converse College (Spartanburg, SC) in 1993. She earned
an M.S. degree in Molecular Genetics from the University
of Vermont in 1997, where she studied the role of
chromatin structure in regulating the initiation of DNA
replication. She subsequently worked as a research
associate in the Department of Neuroscience at the
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), where she
participated in studies on the molecular biology of
nervous system development. She coauthored publications
in both of these fields of study. She became an adjunct
lecturer in the Biology Department on the Flint campus
in 2001, and also assisted her husband, Joe Sucic
(professor in the Biology Department), in his research
efforts, where she also was a coauthor on a scientific
publication.
Holly was an amazing
person with an diverse array of talents and interests.
As her students would attest, she was an enthusiastic,
well-prepared, and demanding instructor. She enjoyed
traveling and cross-stitching. She was an avid
reader—she probably read every Star Trek and Star Wars
book ever published—who was almost always
reading something. She was also an extremely talented
and proficient gardener, and loved spending time in the
beautiful gardens she planted at home. She also had one
of the most eclectic collections of music imaginable,
ranging from Bon Jovi and Van Halen to Mozart and Yo Yo
Ma—with just about everything in between.
Holly was diagnosed with breast
cancer in 2004, and after a difficult battle against her
disease passed away on April 7, 2005. Her courage and
dignity during her disease were a source of inspiration
to everyone who knew her. After it became apparent she
would lose her battle, she said, in response to remarks
about why this was happening to her, “Why not me? This
happens to people everyday, so why think it couldn’t or
wouldn’t happen to me?” That epitomized the way Holly
approached not only her final days, but her entire
life. She was a decent and thoughtful person who
contributed much to everyone fortunate enough to have
known her. She is missed, loved, and fondly
remembered.
