Michael Suisman, of West Hartford, Connecticut, passed away at the age of 88 on Nov. 22nd. He is survived by his loving and beloved wife, Elsa Haft Suisman, five children: Douglas (Moye), Joy, Charlie, David and Sherry, 2 stepchildren: Jackie (Carl) and James (Simone) Haft, 9 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by 2 brothers: Richard (Ingrid) and John (Kathy). His first marriage to Betty Levin ended in divorce and his second wife, Janet Schecter, predeceased him. Mike was the consummate gentleman, loyal and kind. He was an avid skier who loved travel, the arts, fine wine and gardening. After having been graduated from Andover in 1947 and Yale in 1951 he entered and ran the family business, Suisman and Blumenthal, (later to become Aerospace Metal). Under his leadership the business expanded from a local/regional company to one with a national reputation. Michael was Chairman of the Board of The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, The Greater Hartford Jewish Federation, The Hartford Endowment Fund for Public Giving and the Jewish Community Foundation. He also served on the boards of The Hartford Stage Company, Connecticut General, Connecticut Bank and Trust and Hartford Hospital. He was passionate as a philanthropist and well known for his personal generosity and for the significant contributions he raised for not-for-profit institutions. He took great pleasure in broadening their bases of support and often said: “Giving is easy, the hard work is raising money from others.” He was a mainstay and a leader of the Hartford community that felt fortunate to have had him. Services are private. A celebration of his life will be held in the Autorino Hall at the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford Connecticut on Thursday, December 1st from 5 to 8 P.M. Contributions in Mike’s memory may be made to The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, The Greater Hartford Jewish Foundation or the charity of your choice.