Obituary of Antoinette M Surabian

Antoinette M. “Teek” Surabian, a woman loved deeply by her family and friends, passed after a brief illness on Thursday, August 24, 2023.  She was 83 years old.  Teek was born in Boston to Lebanese immigrants, Anthony Emin of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada and Olga (Mattar) Emin of Choueir, Lebanon.  Teek grew up in West Roxbury, was a graduate of Roslindale High School, and worked at a bank in Downtown Boston until having children.  She married her beloved late husband John (Jamaica Plain, MA) in 1960 and moved to Burlington where she raised her five children, managed their home and all her family’s busy schedules.  When her youngest finished elementary school, she returned to the workforce and was employed as an administrative assistant for CSPI, Inc. for more than 15 years.  Upon their retirement, Teek and John split their time between their home in West Harwich which they had owned since 1985 and wintering in Naples, Florida.  They were avid travelers until John’s illness.  Upon his passing, Teek continued to travel regularly with friends into this spring when she went on another Caribbean cruise.

Teek had multiple and overlapping circles of friends.  She had childhood friends, work friends, Burlington friends, Naples friends, and Cape friends all of whom she adored and kept connected to throughout her lifetime.  She was warm, compassionate, outgoing, gregarious, entertaining, and independent up until her passing.  She played mahjong at the Allen Harbor Yacht Club weekly.  She frequented Pleasant Road Beach in Harwich in the summer months where she and her “beach girls” would make a huge circle with their chairs and talk the day away.  She would do the same in Naples at her condominium complex, Falling Waters, as they sat poolside or at the clubhouse playing cards.  Her summer calendar was filled with visits from her family and longtime friends.  She loved having a full house and all the excitement, activities, and commotion that goes along with it.   She was constantly on the move and at work, often with knitting needles in hand, and left for each child, grandchild and great grandchild blankets and sweaters with her signature label “Specially Fashioned by Teek”.

In her mind, she simply had a “Great Life” that was filled with wonderful experiences, excellent friends, and a loving family.  She had a husband she loved and with whom she shared a lifetime of fun and adventure.  She had five children whom she adored.  She loved being part of their lives, tending to all their needs, their scrapes, bruises, missteps, and triumphs.  She passionately supported all of her children in their athletic and extracurricular activities as well as their educational and professional journeys.  She loved welcoming her sons and daughters-in-law as they became members of her family.  She was so grateful as her family continued to grow with 10 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren and that she had the good health to be able to appreciate their times spent together. 

Teek was the beloved wife of the late John H. Surabian (1938-2003).  She was the loving mother of Joanne Hanafin of Billerica, Ronald Surabian & his wife Susan of Burlington, Karen Keaney & her husband David of Burlington, Richard Surabian & his wife Michelle of Burlington, and Robert Surabian & his husband Gregor Smart of Jamaica Plain. She was the mother-in-law of Brian Hanafin.  She was the sister of Dan Emin & his wife Carol of Atlanta, GA. She was the extremely proud “Nana Teek” of Matthew Hanafin, Daniel Hanafin & his wife Meghan, Thomas, Elizabeth, Kathryn, Sean, & Julie Surabian, Jill Faulk & her husband David, Kelliann Keaney & her boyfriend John McCormack, and John Keaney.  She was the great grandmother of Addison & Jordan Hanafin and Henry Faulk. 

Visiting hours will be held at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., Burlington on Monday, August 28 from 4-7pm. Funeral from the Sullivan Funeral Home on Tuesday, Aug. 29 at 9am, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Margaret Church in St. Veronica Parish, www.stveronicama.org, 111 Winn St., Burlington at 10am. Services will conclude with a burial in Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington.  Following services, friends are invited to a mercy meal in Teek’s honor at Café Escadrille, 26 Cambridge St, Burlington. 

Memorials in her name may be made to the Family Pantry of Cape Cod, www.thefamilypantry.com, 133 Queen Anne Rd, Harwich, MA 02645. 

For obituary, online guestbook & video tribute see www.sullivanfuneralhome.net

Family Remembrance:

Antoinette Surabian was a woman of many names, but there will only ever be one Teek.

To her grandkids she was Nana Teek, and in all of you she saw her greatest accomplishment and her legacy.  She loved her grandchildren more than anyone else and was proud of each of you.  At Dan and Meg’s wedding she took my arm and said “Look at all these beautiful people.  Your father and I did that.  I can’t believe we did that – I’m so lucky”.  Family was everything to Nana Teek and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren brought her immense joy.  And that was a two way street – once one you said you were going to the Cape for a visit, everyone wanted to jump in on the action.  She was right – she was lucky.  Lucky to have all of you.

To her children she was usually just Ma.  The person we probably took for granted a little too much.  She just did.  And she did whatever needed doing.  We rarely saw her sit down and sitting down at all often meant more work.  I think we all have a very clear image of her at the kitchen table with her file box open, paying bills and balancing the checkbook.  She’d spend a night combing through her figures if she were off by a penny!  She just couldn’t have it.  Someone needed a ride?  Okay, I’ll drive.  There’s a potluck tomorrow?  Okay, I’ll make seven layer bars.  We need to raise money for hockey?  Okay, I’ll knit some Burlington hats.  Ma was a seemingly endless fountain of energy and she rarely directed that toward herself.  She gave and then kept giving.

To our father, she was either Antoinette or Teek.  Marriage is hard work and they stuck together through good times and bad.  Raising 5 children was stressful and I’m sure we gave them most of their gray hairs.  Things got easier as we all got older and let me tell you, everything changed for Teek and John once they bought the Cape.  There they flourished and became the people they were always meant to be together:  happier, more easy with each other, more graceful with each other and finally able to relax a little.  When Dad got sick, Ma went into doing mode again.  She cared for him like she cared for us – doing whatever needed doing and giving him the best quality of life in his own homes right to the end.  It was truly an act of grace and courage.  After Dad’s passing, she would often say to me “I have a wonderful life, I just with my husband were here with me.”  It’s a great comfort to know they’re together again.

To her friends she was simply Teek:  the person who just wanted to have fun and without even trying was always entertaining, telling a good story or having a laugh.  Teek was the person who eagerly welcomed strangers into her circle and was then fiercely loyal to them and deeply interested in their lives.  I’m sure her pals Marty and Jeanette welcomed her with open arms on the other side and I’m also sure they’re already having a blast.

But really, who was she?  She was just a good person, neither sinner nor saint, someone who held closely to her faith, gave more than she took, a person who led a good life, a happy life that has now sadly ended but whose legacy will live on in all of us and with all of you, the people she touched and who touched her.  Thank you for being part of the joy she brought to our world.  We are all better people for having known and loved her, no matter what name you used.