SUZANNE INEZ JOHNSON's Obituary
Suzanne Inez Johnson passed away on February 22, 2024, just one day after celebrating her 83rd birthday.
Suzanne was born on February 21, 1941, in Louisville, Kentucky, to Mary Agnes Schwartz and Kenneth David Schwartz. She was the second oldest of four siblings, two sisters and one brother. She was predeceased by her sister Gail Stapleton in 2021. Suzanne married David Soule Johnson of Long Beach, California, in 1967; he passed away in 2013. She is survived by her two devoted children, Eric Sutton Johnson and Melanie Johnson Murphy (Ryan); granddaughter Charlotte Johnson; sister Sharon Longobardi (Gino); and brother K. David Schwartz Jr. (Louise).
Suzanne was well known in the South Florida community as the pioneering matriarch of Miami’s nightlife and esteemed hostess to the stars. As a trailblazing nightclub proprietor, she helmed iconic venues such as The Mutiny, Cat’s, and Suzanne’s in the Grove, earning widespread acclaim for shaping the vibrant social fabric of Coconut Grove. Other clubs she led in South Florida included Turnberry Isle and Grove Isle, and in Atlanta, SJ’s, Mimi’s, Max’, and Daphne’s at the Sheraton (in Newark, Atlanta, and Miami). She partnered with high-profile local business leaders Burton Goldberg, Marty Margulies, Monty Trainer, and Don Soffer and catered to an elite and celebrity clientele that included the likes of Elton John, George Michael, the Bee Gees, and Don Johnson, among many others.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Suzanne embraced her role as a devoted mother and grandmother, exuding boundless energy through her passion for travel and active lifestyle. Undoubtedly her parents, sister Gail, and faithful poodle companion, Rocky "Doodles" Boots, eagerly awaited her arrival in heaven and greeted her with overwhelming love, joy, and heartfelt warmth.
Suzanne’s funeral mass will be held at St. Hugh Catholic Church at 3460 Royal Rd. in Coconut Grove, FL on May 4, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. EST.
Her internment will take place at the family plot in St. James Cemetery in Elizabethtown, KY.
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