Maria Surprenant

Maria Surprenant, aged 69, died Thursday, November 7, 2019, at the Essex Rehabilitation Center, in Elizabethtown, New York. Born on August 8, 1950 in Binghamton, New York to Edgar and Alice Surprenant, she spent most of her young years in Redford and Dannemora. After graduating from St. John's High School Maria made Plattsburgh her home. As a home care aide she served the elderly of her community until her retirement due to a disability.

Maria devoted much of her free time to volunteer activities, especially those centered on children and elders. She loved lighthouses. She was an avid reader, favoring mysteries, books about the Titanic, and was particularly fond of the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This last interest led to her final volunteer project - serving as a guide at the Wilder Homestead in Burke, New York, the boyhood home of Ingalls' husband, Almanzo Wilder.

Maria loved animals and over the years had provided a home to a long line of cats. She recalled with special fondness her small black cat, Velvet, and her last cat, Holly.

Maria was predeceased by her parents, her twin sister, Maureen, her brother, Michael, and her beloved cousin, Sandy Rogers. Maria will be remembered with affection by her friends, Cheryl and her brother Michael Collins, and by Laura and Tim Palkovic.

Arrangements are being handled by the Heald Funeral Home, Plattsburgh, New York. At Maria's request there will be no visitation. Services will be private.

As one friend said of Maria, "She would give you the shirt off her back."

Maria lived a challenging and sometimes difficult life, but it was not small; it was uniquely her own and she lived it on her own terms.

Rest in peace, Maria.