Hoffner Fisher and Harvey

Her mother, Ida, raised 11 children in post-war Germany. Her father, Michael, was a soldier, captured on the Russian front, but he survived. Susi definitely knew hardship and doing without in her young years. After being rescued from running away with a local circus, at age 14, she developed a burning desire to come to America.At 17, she married a GI and came to America in 1963, with her 3 month-old son Victor and $60 in her pocket. She lived in Boston with an aunt, worked 2 jobs, learned English, and received her college degree. She worked for some time at Strategic Air Command at several military bases, and became extremely proficient in business management.She eventually moved to California, where she met and worked with Mike Harris at Nulaid Foods, a noted egg products factory, which Mike managed. She soon became involved with shipping frozen products to Hawaii & Guam.In 1979, they moved to Seattle and married on January 2, 1982. Susi answered a newspaper ad from TMX Shipping for a freight forwarder position. She fell in love with the job, the customers, and the rapid pace of the industry. From then on, she devoted her full energy to the shipping industry and especially fresh fruit. This was a challenge she could not pass up.Eventually she became sole-owner and operator of Universal Freight Forwarders, specializing in perishable commodities. With great support from customers and colleagues, she built a great business. During the glory days of breakbulk shipping, she managed full charter shiploads of fruit, guiding every last truck to shipside, carefully watching the stowage of every pallet.After “retiring” in 2008, she eventually reopened her business as Harris International Freight Forwarders, which she operated until her passing.She had a great ability to develop solid working relationships on both sides of the business and she always understood it was the customer that was at the heart of every action. SHE LOVED HER CUSTOMERS and they had her persistent attention 24/7.Susi was a female pioneer in a male-dominated industry. At one point she co... (Yakima Herald-Republic)