Suzanne Johnson

Suzanne Amelie Simas Hicks Johnson, 96, died Thursday, May 9, 2019, in Beaumont, Texas, surrounded by her son and close friends. She was born to Louis Henri Simas and Marie Chretien Simas on February 12, 1923, in Bazouges-La-Perouse, France.

Suzanne lived the early years of her life in Paris, France. She spent her teenage years under the German occupation of France in Normandy. She witnessed the D-Day invasion from her rooftop looking toward the west. When the allied troops secured Normandy, she worked as a courier on a bicycle for the Red Cross for the duration of the war.

One day a bomb exploded out in the fields, sending flying clods of dirt raining down on her, knocking her off the bicycle. She got back up, slightly bruised and battered, ears ringing, and continued her duties.

Suzanne met her first husband, Lieutenant John Winston Hicks, during the reconstruction phase after the war in 1945. They married the next year on August 13, 1946, in Deauville, France.

Suzanne and Johnny lived in various places in the world including, Germany, Japan, and the United States during this military service in the army. They had two sons, Winston Christian Hicks and John Paul Hicks. After serving twenty-two years in the army, Johnny retired and found a new job with the Honeywell Corporation. The family moved to Massachusetts and eventually settled in Beaumont, Texas, in 1969.

Survivors include her son, John Paul Hicks of Beaumont; niece, Joelle Simas Doguet and her husband, Darrell, of Church Point, Louisiana; great-niece, Kristina Siracusa and her husband, Steven, of Rayne, Louisiana; great-nephews, Nicholas Doguet of Lafayette, Louisiana and Adrien Massoni, of Leesville, Louisiana; great-niece, Sonya Massoni of Leesville, Louisiana; and great-great-niece, Juliette Siracusa.

She is preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Christian Simas and Paul Simas; sister-in-law, Renee Simas; first husband, John Winston Hicks; son, Winston Christian Hicks; and second husband, Dr. Jerry Johnson.

A funeral service for Mrs. Johnson will be at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 15, 2019, at Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont.