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A tale of gold coins and adventure are just part of the story

Suzy McDaniel is pictured here with her husband and daughters at her oldest daughter Lauren’s graduation from The University of Denver.

By Amy Shanahan; photo courtesy of Suzy McDaniel

Castle Pines resident Suzy McDaniel is the registrar at Rocky Heights Middle School. She is well-known in the community for her kind and welcoming spirit, her great accent, and her striking looks. However, those who are fortunate to know her well, also know that her background includes a tale of hardship, uncertainty and perseverance.

McDaniel was born in northern Iran where her family lived a life of luxury. Her entrepreneurial father had successful businesses and her ancestry included generations of winemakers. McDaniel’s family heritage was Armenian, and she grew up attending private Armenian Christian schools in Tehran. During the time that McDaniel was a young child, the Shah of Iran ruled the kingdom, and Iran experienced religious tolerance and general freedom.

When McDaniel was nine, her father was courted by a Soviet propagandist who convinced him that he should move his family to Armenia for a better life. At the time, Armenia was a part of the Soviet Union. Just prior to leaving Iran, McDaniel’s father turned much of his wealth into gold coins, which would ultimately become the family’s salvation.

For the next seven years, McDaniel and her family experienced life firsthand in a Communist regime. “When you live in a Communist country, you are not free to choose to do anything. You are so cut off from the outside world and everything is dictated to you – where you will live, what job you will have, when you may buy a car … everything.” McDaniel explained. McDaniel displayed a strong aptitude for music and she excelled at singing, playing the piano, and playing the Kanon, an Armenian folk instrument. Her prowess earned her a music degree at the music academy in Armenia and she was eventually accepted into the most prestigious music conservatory in the country.

It was also during this very formative time in her life that McDaniel experienced health issues. The Soviet Union had a socialized system of medicine, whereby the government dictated the procedures and medications that were administered for each surgery. When McDaniel was 14-years-old, she had both her tonsils and appendix removed. Both procedures involved her being strapped down and she was not given any anesthesia. McDaniel now laughs about her experiences, but her memories and impressions remain with her. “Being in a hospital here in the United States is like going to a spa!”

During the seven years that McDaniel’s family spent in the Soviet Union, her father used his gold coins to support his family and to bribe officials and others to get his family out of the country and to freedom. Finally in 1976, after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold coins, the family was able to leave the Soviet Union. McDaniel’s tale of their flight out of the country is like something out of a movie. McDaniel’s father was using gold coins to bribe officials, even as the rest of his family sat on the airplane in Moscow, watching him throw coins and race down the runway toward the plane.

The family landed in Rome, Italy where they waited one year until the World Council of Churches secured papers which allowed them to immigrate to the United States. McDaniel and her family finally settled in southern California, where she taught herself English by enrolling in a short-hand class and staying up until 3 a.m. with three dictionaries translating her lessons. McDaniel found work in a fabric store where the Ukrainian owner translated for her and paid her $2 per hour, which thrilled her. McDaniel went on to earn a college degree and is grateful for her past and how her life turned out.

McDaniel now lives in Castle Pines with her husband Alan and is the mother of two talented and accomplished daughters, Lauren and Nicole, who both attended Rocky Heights Middle School and Rock Canyon High School. McDaniel loves her adopted country. “This is by far the best country in the world. I thank the Lord every day that I am blessed and privileged to live here,” McDaniel said. “Having the ability to say and do whatever we want is the meaning of real freedom and I don’t take anything for granted.” 

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