Suzanne Parish

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. In 1977, with her husband, Pete Parish, she was the co-founder of the Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum, later known as the Air Zoo, after the animal nicknames of the planes.

Early life Parish was born in New York City, the daughter of Dorothy Upjohn DeLano Dalton and H. Allan DeLano. Parish was the maternal granddaughter of William E. Upjohn, the founder of The Upjohn Company, the Michigan pharmaceutical manufacturing company.

In 1942, Parish attended Sarah Lawrence College.

Career Parish learned to fly in 1941, when she was 19 years old. and was stationed at Bryan Army Air Base near Bryan, Texas, where she flew P-40, AT-6, and BT-13 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, an AT-6, and a Grumman Wildcat. The last plane they purchased was the P-40.

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 Air Zoo, near the airport at Kalamazoo, Michigan. The nucleus of the collection was their own planes. 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, California. In July 2009, President Barack Obama signed a bill that gave the WASPs the Congressional Gold Medal.

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