It is with deep sadness that we announce Matt’s passing on March 16, 2025, with family by his side. He is survived by his adoring wife Susan, his children Stephen (Marc), Kathy (Tim), and Daniel (Meghan), grandsons Henry and Charley, and three generations of his extended Korean family. He was predeceased by his first wife Clara, parents Joseph and Maria, and three brothers and two sisters.
Born and raised under Japanese occupation in Iri, Korea, he was the youngest of the family, doted upon and watched over by his mother and sisters. In school he was recognized as a brilliant student. Having been exposed early on to English by the family’s Irish priest, he had his first job translating the Reader’s Digest into Korean at the age of 14. By the time he was a teenager, he had also read most of the classics in English. He developed a habit of reading dictionaries and had an immense vocabulary. The Korean War broke out when he was 19 and he joined the Student Volunteer Forces of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, seeing action after only one month of training. Later, as a senior medical student at Seoul National University, he had a two-year military placement as a medical officer with the US Armed Forces, with the rank of Captain.
Matt leaves a legacy of leadership and academic contributions in his professional life. He emigrated to Canada in 1959 to pursue residency training in psychiatry at the renowned Allen Memorial Institute in Montreal. His first position was as Director of Child Psychiatric Services for the Province of New Brunswick; he was also consultant to the Saint John General and St. Joseph’s Hospitals, and to the Department of the Attorney General. He was granted his Master of Arts degree in Sociology and Anthropology from the University of New Brunswick in 1968.
His contributions to the growth of psychiatric services in Ottawa began in 1967, when he was recruited by the Royal Ottawa Hospital as Director of the Children’s Psychiatric Inpatient Service. After nine years, he continued at the Royal as Director of Psychiatric Emergency Services and Director of Adult Psychiatry. He was a consultant psychiatrist at the Ottawa General Hospital and the Grace Hospital. Academically, he was a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa. After training in psychoanalysis and becoming a faculty member of the Canadian Institute of Psychoanalysis, he left the Royal and moved to private practice of both psychiatry and psychoanalysis, where he worked until his retirement in 2018.
Matt was long known for his intellectual prowess, his outstanding English literacy, and his punctiliousness. He had extensive knowledge of world history, military history, and geopolitics. He loved relaxing and socializing with friends and colleagues. As a father he was strict and had high expectations of his children, but could also be tender and loving. He was always thrilled to spend time with his two grandsons. He adored Susan, his devoted companion for over 49 years. He enjoyed reading, gardening, fishing with his children, woodworking, world travel, and good wine. In midlife he shifted his passion for tennis to golf, and revelled in the competitive and social environment at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club.
We extend sincere gratitude to Drs. Hasimja, Moledina, Toguri and Bruni and the General Internal Medicine and Palliative Care teams at The Ottawa Hospital, General Campus; to his personal support workers at home; and to friend Maria, for their support and compassionate care.
There will be a Celebration of Life for family and friends on May 10th, 2-5 pm, at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club, 1405 Chemin d’Aylmer, Gatineau. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Dementia Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County or to a charity of choice would be appreciated.
Livre de visiteurs
Len Ellis
Susan Kundig
Sincere heartfelt condolences from
Susan & Evelyn Kündig
Sechelt, British Columbia
Marnie Edwards
Dear Susan, my condolences to the whole family. Bob and I enjoyed many wonderful conversations over the years and I loved it when he would laugh. He had a beautiful smile. Always dapper in his sweaters or golf shirts, he was ever the gentleman. Susan, you were a devoted and loving wife and you gave Matt the best last years of his life by giving him the quality of life that kept him in his home that was his Castle. He will be missed and never forgotten. Forever in your Heart. Sending Love to you.
Keith Wilkins
I am saddened by the passing of Dr Sun. As a patient Dr Sun was a guide during my journey to wellness. He was a kind, gentle and exacting man who I will always appreciate. I last saw Dr Sun at the OAC winter golf school and though he was failing he was all things that I knew him to be. My condolences to the family I can only imagine the loss that you feel.
Alan Bowker
Our deepest condolences to you and your family.
Alan and Carolyn Bowker
Bernard Poulin
Dear Susan and family,
Marie and I offer you our deepest condolences.
Your beautiful obituary highlights the genius, the warmth and the mystical of Matt Suh. It is so wonderful to read of this man so well known and loved by those he encountered throughout his personal and professional life. Though sorely missed, he has left us all with the fondest of memories.
Please allow me a few sentiments and reminiscences...
Dr. Matt was a phenomenon. I was a proud member of some of his incredibly enlightening psychiatric team meetings held at the Royal Ottawa Hospital... Punctilious? Lord, he surpassed that basic level of expectation of others and turned clarity and excellence into an art form which rendered our deliberations sane (no pun intended) and humanely productive. Though a seeker of excellence, he was never a perfectionist. In that light, he was the best of mentors.
I learned from him and wondered why I often felt special - singled out as a consulted individual within the Royal Ottawa Hospital team. So many of us, as teacher-therapists, child-care workers and aides were so much younger, so less qualified than some of our colleagues and yet, Dr. Matt Suh still had admiration and respect to share.
Punctilious? Always, condescending, pompous? Never But oh how he expected the best we had to offer. We soon learned that we were at the service of our patients and in that realm he, in turn expected our optimum devotion.
And yet... Matt Suh could exercise a sense of humour at the drop of a hat and often in moments where such behaviour was completely unexpected.. For example, when different professions, such as psychologists, therapists or language specialists would lengthily extol the virtues of each their own professional expressions, Dr. Matt (patiently sighing) would simply say something like : “so you think the kid is crazy?” This was enough to get us all giggling which, in turn, curbed our tendencies to use professional jargon to which only “some” would be privy. If a “meticulous scrupulousness of comedy" could relax a room full of serious specialists, Matt Suh, psychiatrist extraordinaire and genius connoisseur of the human soul , would be the only individual I know who could pull it off.
Sadly, after moving on into another profession, I was rarely in contact with this special man. And yet, he never left me. Now 80, I am still in awe of that twinkle in his eye which made me feel way more special than I ever thought I could be.
And so, thank you for being you Dr. Matt Suh, cherished friend, colleague, patron and only elder brother I wish I had had. My wife, the Honourable Marie-P Charette Poulin, will assuredly continue to stoke my memories as we recall, over a glass of wine, you being one of the more special people who have touched me deeply throughout our separate and linked lives.
Affectionately,
Bernard Poulin
I send my sincere condolences during this time of sorrow. The Bible promises that your loved one will come to life again on a beautiful paradise earth when death will be no more in Jean 5:28, 29.