Suzanne Alton

Suzanne Alton (Puca) TRENTON Suzanne Alton (Puca) has passed away at age 91 at the Hamilton Grove Nursing Facility in Trenton, NJ, this past Feb. 4. She spent the last years of her life residing with her beloved granddaughter, Janene Puca, and her life partner, John Cornicello, of Yardville, NJ, and was also lovingly cared for by her only daughter, Carrie Puca of Bordentown. Ms. Alton was born in Baltimore, MD, on Jan. 26, 1924. Her father was Harvey Luther Alton of Calvert County, MD; he died in September 1964 at age 79. Her mother, the late Katie E. Ogden, also of Calvert County, died at age 41 in 1931, having given birth to 12 children, of whom Suzanne was the ninth. Her father lovingly nicknamed her "Pippi-Jane." Suzanne and several of her brothers and sisters were raised in the Kelso Home in Towson, MD, after the untimely passing of her mother. Ms. Alton was married to Michael R. Puca of Chambersburg in Trenton, NJ, for 33 years and is survived by her five children, Stephen and Michael, Jr. both of North Carolina; Timothy of Virginia; daughter Carrie of Bordentown, NJ, and the youngest, Anthony of Tennessee. There are six grandchildren, Marie Angelique Deleon of California, Janene Puca of Yardville, Nicholas Larkins and Mykal Puca, and Miles Anthony and Kiyoko Mia Puca of Tennessee, and three great- grandchildren, Larissa and Thomas Sapudar and Maddox Puca. Suzanne worked briefly for the Maybelline Cosmetics Company in her 20s and occasionally as a Kelly Girl before she became a "full time" homemaker and mother. After all the children were grown, Suzanne worked at St. Francis Hospital as an executive secretary. She and her husband and children resided in Chambersburg, Trenton, until they relocated to Hamilton Square in 1957. Her husband, Michael R. Puca, Sr., was the treasurer/manager of the New Jersey Auto Workers Federal Credit Union in Ewing Township for many years until his retirement. Mr. Puca preceded Suzanne in death in November 2002. Ms. Alton's wishes were to be cremated upon her death and to have no funeral ceremony. Hers was a long and full life and we, her descendants, are deeply saddened and our lives diminished by her passing.
When I must leave you for a little while,
please do not grieve and shed wild tears
and hug your sorrow to you through the
years. But start out bravely with a gallant
smile; and for my sake and in my name
live on and do all things the same. Feed
not your loneliness on empty days, but
fill each waking hour in useful ways.
Reach out your hand in comfort and in
cheer, and I in turn will comfort you and
hold you near; and never, never be afraid
to die, for I am waiting for you in the sky!