Jewel Claire (Bode) Suchecki

PORTLAND – Jewel Claire (Bode) Suchecki passed away on Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025 in Portland.

She was born on May 30, 1930, in New York City, N.Y., the only child of the late Grover and Allie (Bramberg) Bode.

Her education began in a one-room school house in Pound Ridge, N.Y. and in 1952, she graduated from Skidmore College majoring in Fine Arts and Textile Design. After receiving her degree, she lived in Greenwich Village, N.Y. and was employed as a textile designer.

In 1959, she married the late Stanley Michael Suchecki who was a chemist, photographer and journalist. They moved to Ridgefield, Conn. where they raised their two sons. Following the death of Stanley in 1984, she moved to Maine and lived for many years on Scarborough Marsh.

An accomplished watercolorist, weaver, photographer and builder of terrariums, “Julie”, as she liked to be known as, was full of creative energy. For many years, she ran a business called Minor Details and became an expert in the construction of twelfth scale miniature rooms and doll houses. Her small masterpieces adorned the windows of Tiffany’s in New York City and the gallery of the Chicago Art Institute.

Julie became interested in birdwatching in the early 1960s during family camping trips to Wellfleet on Cape Cod. Eventually, her bird life list numbered in the 1000s and this passion took her to many places: the Aleutian Islands, South America, the Canadian Arctic and of course Scarborough Marsh, to name just a few.

She will be missed by her two sons, Peter Suchecki and his wife Lauri Twitchell of Oakland, Calif., and Karl Suchecki and his wife Susan of Scarborough; her grandsons Nicholas Suchecki and his fiancé Caroline Tomsik and Neil Suchecki and his wife Jane; and great-grandchildren Ella and Philip.

A private service will be held at Maple Shade Cemetery in Ridgefield, Conn.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations in Julie’s memory to The Maine Audubon Society.

http://Audubon.org/support/give/