Suzy Stage passed away on January 24, 2024, in Richmond, Virginia, where she lived with her daughter Dr. Melissa Bradner, son-in-law Terry Wyllie, and grandson Calder Wyllie. She was predeceased by her respective husbands, John H. Bradner and John L. Stage, and by her parents Dr. Donald and Dorothy Kay Hull and siblings David and Mary Hull and Nancy Hull Kearing. Her brother Dr. Richard Hull survives along with her daughter Melissa; three sons, Michael, Andrew and Patrick Bradner; and her grandchildren, Oliver and William Bradner (DeAngelis), as well as Aidan, Enya, and Madison Bradner.
Suzy affectionately answered to numerous nicknames that could fill a page. She was born May 1, 1937, raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and graduated from its high school in 1955 after already distinguishing herself as a gifted actress. Skipping undergraduate studies, she was admitted to Yale University’s graduate School of Drama and starred in numerous path breaking plays, including the world premiere of playwright Archibald MacLeish’s “J.B.” in 1958. After rave reviews from the media, she and the cast were selected to re-appear only months later at the World’s Fair in Brussels, Belgium, achieving wide acclaim.
While her métier seemed to be acting Suzy decided early on that raising a family could be an even greater passion and more rewarding. With her husband, they settled in bucolic Warwick, New York, where she dedicated nearly the rest of her life to producing four talented and adventurous children and engaging with them in a wide range of volunteer community activities, including dramatic productions on radio and stage, art shows, political campaigns for social justice, saving historic buildings, and working for-profit enterprises like food catering, small store retailing, real estate and professional modeling here and in Australia. She traveled globally and nationally with her first husband, John Bradner, a musician and archeologist, and with her second husband, John Stage, a freelance photographer. As her children grew, she visited them, sharing and savoring their own experiences in Peru, Korea, Indonesia, Europe, and Tasmania, Australia, where some of her grandchildren live.
Suzy acquired a huge following of friends extending from her childhood chums to compatriots in her cherished hometown of Warwick and later in Richmond. But throughout life her deepest love was for her children who in turn gave her their enduring affection to the final hours of her life.
A gregarious person by nature, people from all walks of life were attracted to Suzy’s sweet, positive demeanor, her resilience, her generosity of spirit and kind, cheerful soul.