Obituary of Suzanne M Banfield

SUZANNE M. BANFIELD, 72, of Basking Ridge, passed away peacefully on October 13th at the Center for Hope Hospice in Scotch Plains, NJ, after a long battle with cancer. Born in Brooklyn NY to her parents Joseph P. Cassidy and Marion Bogan Cassidy, Suzanne was raised in Clark NJ and was a member of the first graduating class from Mother Seton High School. Suzanne went on to Montclair State College graduating with a BA, Rutgers University Graduate School with a MS, and later on in life, a Ph.D from the Fielding Institute. Suzanne had a long and varied career, beginning as a middle school teacher in Cranford, followed by a food technologist, purchasing manager, project manager, management trainer, and business systems planner at BASF Corporation, from where she retired in 2004. Throughout her career, Suzanne was always energetic and dedicated to her work. She believed in mentoring those she worked with and made many long-time friends along the way. While working as a project manager for the NJ Department of the Treasury in Trenton, Suzanne met her future husband Ed Banfield in 1981. They were married in 1985. In retirement, Suzanne’s love of cooking expanded into competing in cooking contests. She won several national cooking competitions and appeared on the “Today” show in 2009 cooking her award-winning burger recipe for hosts Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. Friends and family were always as eager to come and try her new recipes. Suzanne agreed with Julia Child that “ People who love to eat are always the best people. “ Also in retirement, Suzanne taught jewelry making part-time at the Adult School of the Chathams, Madison and Florham Park for 7 years. Suzanne is survived by her husband, Edwin Banfield of Basking Ridge, a sister Carole Boothroyd of Maine, a brother Joseph L. Cassidy of Maine, and many cousins, nieces and nephews. A memorial gathering will be held in Suzanne’s memory at the Gallaway & Crane Funeral Home, 101 S. Finley Avenue, Basking Ridge on October 23rd, 2021 from 10:00 – 12:00pm. Memorial Service will be at 11:30am. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to the Food Bank Network of Somerset County, P.O. Box 149, Bound Brook, NJ 08805 or to your local food pantry organization. For further information, or to leave an online condolence message please visit www.gcfuneralhome.com