Colette M. "Tootsie" Suminski

Colette “Tootsie” Suminski, born on March 25, 1944, to Alfred and Angeline (Kubisiak) Miller, passed away on March 1, 2026, at the age of 81. The oldest of four sisters and one brother, she grew up in Muskego on Priegel Drive, where she and her siblings enjoyed ice skating and fishing. From an early age, Colette found joy in drawing, music, and the fiber arts. She played piano, sketched landscapes, flowers, and birds, but her true passion was sewing. Through the local 4-H chapter, she honed her skills and earned numerous blue ribbons for her sewing and cooking, including the prestigious purple grand prize at the Wisconsin State Fair for a wool shirt she made for her father. She later organized wool shows and created countless garments for her family.

A graduate of Mercy High School, Colette earned a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics with a minor in Art from Alverno College in 1966. She worked first at McCoy’s, assisting Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontaine with decorator fabrics, and later as a fabric buyer for Kohl’s Department Stores. In her twenties, she met John Suminski at a Catholic Alumni Association fish fry in Milwaukee. They married on November 7, 1970, at St. James Parish in Mukwonago, with a reception at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Waterford. Colette sewed her own wedding dress and all the bridesmaid dresses. In 1976, the couple moved to the Northwoods of Wisconsin, where they owned and operated funeral homes in Wabeno and Crandon. There, Colette also ran the Hide-a-way Flower Shop and continued to create and sell her handcrafted items at local craft fairs.

Colette and John were blessed with four children: Theresa, Matthew, Jean, and Mary. She poured her love into her family, preparing home-cooked meals with vegetables from John’s garden and nurturing each child’s interests. She instilled in them the values of loyalty, commitment, self-reliance, hard work, and thrift. Summers were spent at their lake house on Lake Lucerne, where the family enjoyed swimming, boating, and fishing. Later, they made Suminski Shores their permanent home in Forest County. Colette delighted in her grandchildren—Holly, Alex, and Elena—teaching them to knit, crochet, sew, cook, and bake her cherished recipes, including banana bread, stollen, and paczki.

After 40 years in the Northwoods, Colette and John returned to southeastern Wisconsin, first to Waterford and then to the Bay View neighborhood of Milwaukee, where she remained close to two of her children. She continued creating and selling her work at maker’s markets and looked forward to peaceful summers back at the lake, annual sister weekends, and trips to places such as Taliesin and Lake Geneva. Colette faced life’s hardships with quiet strength and deep faith, supporting her family through the illness and loss of her daughter Jean, the death of her husband of 42 years, and her own 17-year journey with cancer. She remained resilient, hopeful, and grounded in her love for family and God until the end.

She is survived by her children Theresa (Jeff Karriker) Neddo, Matthew Suminski, and Mary K. Suminski; grandchildren Holly, Alex, and Elena Neddo; and siblings Karen (William) Brown, Janet (the late William) Hubbard, Michael (Barbara) Miller, and Susan.