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 11 th 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 1982-84 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 1984-86, 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 1987-89.

The Fongs moved to Holland, Mich. in 1989. Later that year son Colin was born. From 1992-95, 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.

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