Suzanne McGee Memorial Scholarship Fund
Mary Suzanne McGee
Mary Suzanne McGee was a happy, delightful, creative, musically gifted teacher who made music fun! She was a personal encourager to all who entered her home to take piano lessons. She passed away at 58 years old from a 3 year battle with Melanoma on January 4, 2017. Her husband Roger, a musician also, is the Music Pastor for First Baptist Church in Alexandria and she left behind two sons, Corey who lives in Chicago, Illinois and Casey, who lives in Arlington Virginia.
Mary Suzanne McGee was a happy, delightful, creative, musically gifted teacher who made music fun! She was a personal encourager to all who entered her home to take piano lessons. She passed away at 58 years old from a 3 year battle with Melanoma on January 4, 2017. Her husband Roger, a musician also, is the Music Pastor for First Baptist Church in Alexandria and she left behind two sons, Corey who lives in Chicago, Illinois and Casey, who lives in Arlington Virginia.
For most of her adult life she taught children, youth and adults private lessons. For the last 22 years of her life she taught from her home on Buckboard Drive in the Riverside Gardens area of Fort Hunt Virginia. She always loved playing the piano in her home growing up in Louisville Kentucky. She began private lessons in 2nd grade participating in local Music Teachers recitals and concert programs till college. Though her college degree was in Linguistics at University of Louisville, she used the piano to bring joy to her own heart and to her family and to over 200 children she taught privately during her years in Northern Virginia.
A hallmark of her teaching was making music with piano a fun experience. A lesson brought games, laughter, encouragement and challenges for growing in musical skills. Her recitals for Christmas, End of Year, and Halloween were major events with as many as 50 students over a 2 day period featuring formality but also decorations, dinner, and table games in a festive atmosphere. She kept herself informed of what children were doing in their lives and her smile warmed them all. She considered herself a part of the families who participated.
Suzanne was eager to learn and play new and old piano music of all styles. She loved the classics and Clair De Lune by Claude Debussy and all Gershwin pieces. She spent her personal time with Roger, running and walking along the Potomac or with the many young adult women she mentored as a Bible teacher at her church. Her faith in God made her the beautiful and compassionate person she was. She always saw the great possibilities in each person and loved them all. Her legacy in our community will live on forever with lives impacted. She is missed by all of us.
— Roger McGee
Roger McGee
Our dad wrote this tribute to our mom a few years ago so that scholarship applicants could see what a wonderful person she was. We miss her every day, but I think what our dad wrote gives you an idea of his love for her and our dad’s desire to ensure that her legacy of music education would go on.
A lot has changed in the years since my dad wrote this tribute. Much of it has been good, as Corey and his wife, Liz, moved back to Alexandria and now lives in the Hollin Hills neighborhood, and both Corey and Casey welcomed new additions to the families over the last year. But in April of 2022, our family suffered the shocking loss of our dad, Roger. While people rarely can say with any candor that they were prepared to lose a parent, we were not at all ready for both of our parents to be gone.
Our parents Roger and Suzanne were both music educators for whom music was both a personal passion and a gift they wanted to pass on to others. While our dad conceived of and helped organize this scholarship, our families want to make sure that this scholarship continues to provide students the opportunity to participate in the legacy of our parents’ passion for and gift of music.
While we will never forget Roger and Suzanne, we couldn’t be more proud to see their memory refreshed and honored in the recipients of this scholarship.
— Corey and Casey McGee
Fund Administrator
- Carrie Garland
Donations
CharitySmith accepts donations in two ways:
The Suzanne McGee Memorial Scholarship Fund
CharitySmith Nonprofit Foundation
13100 Filly Lane
Truckee, CA 96161
Online:
Use credit card by clicking the link below.
The above Memorial Fund is established as a division of Charitysmith Nonprofit Foundation (EIN 87-0636433). All donations are tax deductible in accordance with federal tax law. Receipts for tax purposes are sent via US Mail within two weeks of donation. Please consider asking if your employer participates in a gift-matching program. If so, your donation may be matched by your employer.
For questions regarding your donation or this memorial fund please contact CharitySmith.