Suzanne Fong
When Suzanne Dunham was born, her father was stationed overseas
in Japan, flying reconnaissance missions over Korea. Six weeks
later, her dad's RB-29 was shot down off the coast of northern
Japan by a Russian MiG. Her father and his crewmates were declared
missing. This tragic incident would resurface again in 1992 when
her family received word that researchers had uncovered news about
her father in the archives of the former Soviet Union. A telegram
confirmed that he, or at least his body, had at some point been in
Soviet hands.
Suzanne spent her pre-school years in Easton, Md., her father's
hometown. When she was 6, she moved to Baltimore and went to public
school until 11th grade. She would graduate high school from St.
Paul's School for Girls. She attended Wellesley College in
Wellesley, Mass., and graduated in 1974 with a degree in English.
She married Bobby Fong that year and went on to UCLA, graduating
with a master's in English and a certificate in teaching English as
a second language. She was the first UCLA graduate to receive this
dual degree. In 1982, she graduated with high honors and as a
member of the Order of the Coif from the University of Kentucky law
school.
From 1982-1984 she served as a law clerk for the Honorable Paul
Gudgel with the Kentucky Court of Appeals. In 1984, the Fongs
welcomed their first son, Jonathan, into the world. From 1984-1986,
Suzanne was a research associate for the University of Kentucky law
school, where she edited a two-volume treatise on mineral law in
Kentucky and advised the law journal. She served as a lecturer for
the law school and adjunct professor of economics at Berea College
from 1987-1989.
The Fongs moved to Holland, Mich. in 1989. Later that year son
Colin was born. From 1992-1995, Suzanne was an adjunct professor in
English and political science at Hope College, teaching courses in
writing, government, and women and the law. During these years she
also chaired her church outreach committee, served on the church
vestry, and completed a three-year extension course offered by the
Episcopal seminary in Sewanee, Tenn. She also chaired the board of
a non-profit community organization that provided homes for
developmentally disabled adults.
Following the receipt of information about her father in 1992,
Suzanne worked with State and Defense Department officials as more
information continued to surface. She represented families of other
crew members at a meeting of the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on
POW-MIA's. Her father's body was eventually recovered and returned
to the United States, the only MIA from the Cold War ever returned
from Russia. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
In 1995, the Fongs moved to Clinton, N.Y., when Bobby became
dean at Hamilton College. For five years she worked on
rehabilitating their 175-year-old farmhouse. She also served on the
Clinton School Board. In her spare time, Suzanne has raised puppies
to be trained as service dogs. She also enjoys knitting, quilting,
reading and hiking.
Download print-quality photo of Suzanne
Fong