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From the Publisher: April 2006 |
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Written by Sue Fredericks
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 Susann Rose Wichrowski
1963-2006
With deep sadness and regret I am writing to tell you of the passing of our friend and colleague Susann Wichrowski, National Advertising Manager, Canadian Florist. On February 24, 2006, Susann lost her valiant battle with breast cancer.
Susann joined the magazine in November of 2000 when it was still
published as Cut&Dried. As is the custom in our office, she was
immediately dispatched to the nicknaming department. The team there
worked diligently on good matches and came up with ‘Sugarbaker’ after
the role that Delta Burke played in the late 80’s T.V. series Designing
Women. Both women shared a love of glamour, the grand entrance and a
well coiffed do. They also shared the inability to suffer fools gladly.
Susann quickly let the folks in our office know she was not Susan, Sue
or Suzy – it was Susann with two N’s and no Z’s. Her quick wit and dry
humour were good foils for her compassionate heart. Small, thoughtful
gifts and treats were frequently found on the desks of co-workers, and
she was always the first to stand up for ‘the little guy.’ We also soon
learned that Susann had the comedic ability to tell the details of
everyday life in such a way that we laughed until we had tears in our
eyes.
Under Susann’s watch, advertising sales rose steadily and so did the
amount of colour we were able to put in the magazine. While the budget
might not allow for extra pages, she would fight tooth and nail to get
more colour on the pages to improve the look of her magazine. Susann
immersed herself in the industry and developed personal connections
with many of her customers. Her passion for the industry, and our
magazine in particular, caused the occasional moment of concern for
some advertisers. She took personal affront when customers chose to
discontinue their advertising programs because it was not only bad for
her magazine, but she was certain it would be a poor business decision
for the customer too.
It was only as we watched Susann accept the challenge of battling
breast cancer that her true strength and character were revealed. She
let us know early on that this disease would not define who she was and
that she fully intended to continue to work throughout her treatment.
And she did. The only days that Susann wasn’t in the office in the
first year of her illness were during the weeks when she was receiving
treatments, or when she was in the ‘hood,’ which was her own name for
the clock area.
Early in year two of her illness Susann received the devastating news
that her cancer had spread. It was time for her to let go of her work
and go home to take care of herself. Even as we were chasing her out
the door she was giving us instructions on what needed to be done for
her work on the Flowers Canada Ontario Golf Tournament, and the Florist
Expo Trade Show.
We have missed Susann’s presence in the office for quite some time, and
it is so hard to say that final goodbye. Our only comfort is knowing
that her suffering is over. We at Canadian Florist would like to thank
those of you who we were able to notify of Susann’s passing for the
beautiful floral tributes. The funeral home looked spectacular and
Susann would have been thrilled.
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