17 March 1926 - 22 August 2015
Director of Libraries, Ateneo de Manila University, 1959-1980
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Schedule of Wake and Funeral Services
Oratory of St. Ignatius, Loyola House of Studies
Ateneo de Manila University
Wake Masses
Aug 23 Sunday 8PM
Aug 24 Monday 8PM
Funeral Mass
Aug 25 Tuesday 8AM
Interment at the Sacred Heart Novitiate Jesuit Cemetery follows after the mass.
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"As a student, I spent most of my free time in the Rizal Library, which was then under Fr. Robert Suchan. He was every bit the librarian we all imagine them to be—strict, stern, and perhaps, even to some people, scary. I remember how his mere presence could intimidate students that they would literally part like the Red Sea when they saw him approaching. I never talked to Fr. Suchan—I just knew his name, what he looked like, and how he never smiled, but I consider him one of my Ateneo heroes, whose work contributed significantly to what I am today…
"Fr. Suchan protected the integrity of the library and demanded respect for the instituion. To him, rules were rules, and nobody was exempted. He made sure that the library was always a quiet and conducive place for reading and study. He expected everybody to behave and use the library solely for its intended purpose… Fr. Suchan may be unpopular to some students, but to us who frequented the library, he was an inspiration—an inspiration to be dedicated to our craft, to do things well, even against all odds…
"The lessons I learned, the books I read, the knowledge I gained from the Rizal Library helped mold me into what I am today, and that library would not have been what it was and is today if not for the strict, stern (and scary) librarian that was Fr. Suchan."
-Samson Lim (AB GS ’72), in To Give and Not to Count the Cost: Ateneans Inspiring Ateneans 1859-2009 (2010)
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