DR. SUZANNE M. SKINNER

I think this picture was taken of Suzanne in her last store in 2007.

This page is in memory of Dr. Suzanne M. Skinner.  Daughter of James and Mary Bevan in 1944.  She had many accomplishments in her life and she told me that she had lived a full and exciting life and she had no regrets.

This was the first picture sent me of her. I almost fell out of my chair!

The was a great Holistic Practitioner for the past 30 years and had a PhD  in Nutrition.  She has so many diplomas and certificates in fields related to natural medicine and therapies.  She had been in real estate and at one time had 28 apartments in the Los Angeles, California area.  She had been in ballet and was an instructor.  She was a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department.  She owned a limousine service and had 5 limousines at one time.  She enjoyed making and collecting stained glass.  She loved the Victorian period and had many elaborate gowns and hats,

Suzanne and her mother in 1947

furniture, and many other items of that era.  She was a collector and buyer of many different items…  She loved crystal, whether it was something to sit on a table or hang from the ceiling.  She had many tea sets, Japanese Kutani and Satsuma, lots of plates, colored glass, depression glass, carnival glass, Telavera, and so on.  She had a pillow fetish and I wouldn’t even be able to guess how many she had!  She had also owned 5 stores in the Los Angeles area, and offered her customers everything imaginable.  Antiques and collectibles, oil paintings, clothing, hardware, dishes, formal gowns, shoes, and so on.  She always said that no matter who came in one of her stores, there was something there for them.

In her career as a Holistic Doctor, she helped so many people with their

Suzanne and her Cadillac Eldorado Limousine in December of 1990.

conditions it was unreal.  Women that could not conceive have children today because of Suzanne.  I never heard any of her patients say that what she recommended didn’t help them.  She used to go to the hospitals and walk people out (sometimes without them even being discharged!), take them home, and cure them.

Although she could talk to her patients for HOURS about their health, she always said she was her own worst patient.  She hated taking pills!  She knew what she should have been doing for her own health and diet, but she didn’t always practice what she preached.  I guess we all have been there!

Suzanne at 14.

She originally was my employer, I guess you would say.  Anyway, I think she liked referring to me as her employee to others.  We both knew our relationship was much more than that.  We became best friends, like family, and we enjoyed each others company very much.  I loved listening to her stories about past experiences.  She liked my enthusiasm for cooking and gardening, knowledge about antiques and collectibles and the desire to continually need to know more about everything.  She had bought me several hundred cookbooks by the time I moved to California.  Believe me, I was completely overwhelmed.  I was also amazed at how much that woman could eat!  We also enjoyed each others

Suzanne in January of 1979.

company because we had many similar interests.  We both love stained glass, crystal, Oriental pottery and glass, telavera, and antiques.  We liked most of the same types of movies…  We better like movies, she had hundreds of VHS tapes!

She passed away due to complications of gangrene.  She scraped her ankle on something in the mansion.  I thought that her, being a doctor, she would take care of it.  The next time she showed me, it had turned into gangrene.  Within a few days she couldn’t get in and out of her bed without assistance.  I moved her to my bedroom because my mattress was lower.  Within a couple of days

Suzanne in December of 1991.

she couldn’t get in and out of it either.  She refused to go to the doctor, but I knew she needed to go.  I called a lady to come and help give her a bath because I had to take her to the hospital.  I told Suzanne that she was coming and that I was taking her to the hospital.  She really didn’t object, and I didn’t ask her if she wanted to go.  The only thing she said was, “NOW?”  The lady came and I carried her to the bathroom with the shower, then carried her back to the bedroom.  When she was ready, I carried her downstairs and into the pickup.

Suzanne in May of 1963.

All the way to the hospital she said she had not taken any antibiotics in her life and would refuse any if they wanted to give it to her.  She was a diabetic for the past 10 years but had never taken insulin and she wasn’t going to take any of that either.  She had been on a water fast for about a week and thought her sugar level would be very low because she hadn’t eaten.

One of the first things the doctor did was check her sugar level.  It was very surprising to find it VERY high!  WAY TO HIGH!  So, they gave her insulin and to my surprise, she did not object.  They took X-Rays and also started her on high doses of antibiotics.  All of which, she did not object to.  That is, loud enough for anyone to hear.

Suzanne and her Cadillac Fleetwood Limo in November of 1988.

Suzanne in June of 1987.

When she was admitted and taken to her room, I was in the hall waiting to get in the room.  I heard them ask her what she eats.  Her answer was kind of funny, but they didn’t see the humor.  The told them that she ate a pound of butter a day…  I am sure they didn’t believe her and maybe they thought she was a little crazy…  But, the truth is, she did eat a pound of butter a day!  Not just eat it on bread and on her food, but I had to cook her food with LOTS of butter.  There was more butter in the refrigerator and freezer than anything else!

The doctor came to see her the next morning and told her that they would have to amputate her leg above the

knee and put her on high doses of antibiotics or she would die.  Now, the doctor thought she was incoherent because she had no response.  She just looked at him!  They stopped me at the nurses station and told me that she was incoherent and I needed to sign the papers for her surgery.  I told them that she was not incoherent and she understood perfectly.  She told me she just looked at him because he was crazy if he thought she was going to have her leg cut off and take all those antibiotics.   Her response was that she could die at home.  She

Suzanne in her deputies uniform.

expected me to just walk out with her and wanted her clothes…  I told her she needed to check out.  Well, it was a while before they were ready for her to leave, and I thought she was just going to walk out!  Finally, a nurse came in with the papers and explained to her that if she did not have the surgery she would die.  She again said, I would rather do home and die…   She told me to take her home, so I did.  I took care of her the best of my ability until March 31, 2009 when she passed away.  She kept telling me that it must be awful for me to be taking care of her…  ME?!  All I could think about was how bad it was for her!  She told me she wouldn’t blame me if I just left.  I told her I could not do that!  I said I would stay by her all the way.  I asked her if I were sick if she would just leave me.  She said no and I said I wasn’t about to leave her either.

She passed away March 31, 2009.

She is missed by many people, friends and patients.  She was an only child, and I guess her mother was to.  She had no known surviving family.  She started telling in July of 2008 that she wanted to leave me her estate when she died.  I accepted, but I didn’t expect her to die!  I didn’t know the extent of some of her health conditions at the time either.  I never pressed her to make a will because I didn’t want to be rude.  Well, I hope that I will be able to take care of her estate as she wishes just as if she were here.

This blog wouldn’t have been anything without her.  It wouldn’t exist because there wouldn’t have been a Mystical Mansion.  I wouldn’t be here either!  So, this blog is in memory of Suzanne!  I wish everyone I know could have met her…  A very great lady!

I will be writing more stories about her and some she told me as time goes on.

Suzanne in October of 1960.

Flowers in the back yard in San Pedro, CA.

Suzanne's horse 'Friday' inside the kitchen in Carson, CA.

I think this picture was taken in Suzanne's living room in Carson before she added on.

'Missy Pooh' the Ferrit and 'Charlie Herman' the Poodle.

Suzanne and her Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham in 1987.

Suzanne and her Cadillac Coupe de Ville in August of 1976.

Suzanne in May of 1990.

Suzanne in October of 1960.

Suzanne in June of 1987.

Suzanne's horse 'Lady' and 'Charlie Herman'

This page has the following sub pages.

• MY JOB WITH SUZANNE*