Suzanne "Sue" Upjohn DeLano Parish (November 13, 1922 – May 12, 2010) was an American aviator. Parish was a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1977, with her husband, Pete Parish, she was the co-founder of the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, later known as the

Air Zoo The Air Zoo, founded as the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, is an aviation museum and indoor amusement park next to the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport in Portage, Michigan. The Air Zoo holds many historical and rare aircraft, inc ...

, after the animal nicknames of the planes.

Early life

Parish was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the daughter of Dorothy Upjohn DeLano Dalton and H. Allan DeLano. Parish was the maternal granddaughter of

William E. Upjohn William Erastus Upjohn (June 15, 1853 – October 18, 1932) was an American physician and both founder and president of The Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company. He was named Person of the Century by the Kalamazoo, Michigan, newspaper. Early life ...

, the founder of The Upjohn Company, the Michigan pharmaceutical manufacturing company. In 1942, Parish attended

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

Career

Parish learned to fly in 1941, when she was 19 years old. From the time she was 19 to 21, she had accumulated 350 hours in the air.

Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs)

When she was 21, Parish joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs). She was in the 44-W-6 class and was stationed at Bryan Army Air Base near

Bryan Bryan may refer to: Places in the United States * Bryan, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Bryan, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Bryan, Ohio, a city * Bryan, Texas, a city * Bryan, Wyoming, a ghost town * Bryan County, Georgia * ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, where she flew

P-40 The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entr ...

, AT-6, and

BT-13 The Vultee BT-13 Valiant is an American World War II-era basic (a category between primary and advanced) trainer aircraft built by Vultee Aircraft for the United States Army Air Corps, and later US Army Air Forces. A subsequent variant of the ...

planes.

Post-World War II

After the war, Parish attempted to get a job as a commercial pilot, to no avail. After marrying Pete Parish in 1948 she had five children and was a full-time mom. In 1958, when her husband purchased a share in a single engine 35C Bonanza, she decided to take up flying once more. She and her husband soon purchased a

Stearman Stearman is a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Josiah Stearman (born 2003), American chess master * Lloyd Stearman (1898–1975), American aviation pioneer * Richard Stearman (born 1987), English footballer * William Stearman ( ...

, an AT-6, and a

Grumman Wildcat The Grumman F4F Wildcat is an American carrier-based fighter aircraft that entered service in 1940 with the United States Navy, and the British Royal Navy where it was initially known as the Martlet. First used by the British in the North Atla ...

. The last plane they purchased was the

. In 1971, Parish was Vice President of Kal-Aero, Inc., the company she and her husband founded in Kalamazoo.

Air Zoo

In 1977, she and her husband co-founded the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, which came to be known as the

, near the airport at

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 73,598. It is the principal city of the Kalamazoo–Portage metropolitan are ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. The nucleus of the collection was their own planes.

Air shows

Parish flew a pink

P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

in several air shows for over 25 years, until she reached her 70s. Deciding that she could no longer handle the G-forces, she flew in her final air show in October of 1993. She continued to fly her Beechcraft

Beechcraft T-34 Mentor The Beechcraft T-34 Mentor is an American propeller-driven, single-engined, military trainer aircraft derived from the Beechcraft Bonanza, Beechcraft Model 35 Bonanza. The earlier versions of the T-34, dating from around the late 1940s to the ...

Legacy

Her signature pink P-40 hangs in the entrance to the Air Zoo.

Personal life

In 1948, Parish married Preston "Pete" Parish. They had two daughters, Barbie Parish and Katie Miller, and three sons, Will Parish, Pres Parish, and Dave Parish. She also had 14 grandchildren. In 1991, the marriage ended in divorce.

Death

Parish died on May 13, 2010, at Smoke Tree Ranch in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Honors

On November 2, 1977, President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

passed Public Law 95-202, which gave those that served in the WASP program military veteran status. They were previously considered civilians. In July 2009, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

signed a bill that gave the WASPs the

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

Memberships

*1970: Kalamazoo Civic Theatre– Trustee *1979: Nazareth College – Board Member *1981: Holderness School – Board Member *1981: P-40 Warhawk Pilots Association – Past President, Historian (from 1981) *1985: Michigan Space Center – Board of Governors Member *1991: Kalamazoo Institute Arts – Board Member *Flying Tigers Association – Life, Honorary affiliate *Kalamazoo Civic Players – Member *Warbirds American – Board Member, Member *William DeLano Memorial Clinic, Offender Aid and Restoration Association – Board Member

Works and publications

References

External links

Suzanne Parish
at

Suzanne Parish
at th
Women's Airforce Service Pilots Digital Archive
at

Texas Woman's University Texas Woman's University (TWU) is a Public research university, public coeducational research university in Denton, Texas, with two health science center-focused campuses in Dallas and Houston. While TWU has been fully co-educational since 1994, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parish, Suzanne 1922 births 2010 deaths Women Airforce Service Pilots personnel Aviators from New York (state) Sarah Lawrence College alumni 21st-century American women People from New York City