Elwood Jay Suereth

Skip was born in York, Pennsylvania, where he spent a large portion of his early years at the York YMCA and served as a gymnastic and aquatic leader. He graduated from York High School, where his academic performance earned him a scholarship to Yale University. He graduated from Yale in 1958 with a degree in mechanical engineering and was employed at Schmidt and Ault Paper Company in York. In January 1959 he joined the U. S. Navy to fly and received his Navy wings in 1960. After attending Navy Photo Reconnaissance School, he was assigned to Utility Squadron Seven (VU-7) in San Diego, flying supersonic F-8U Crusader aircraft and B-26 aircraft.

When a squadron mate flew into the water and was killed during a night training flight, Skip volunteered to return the young pilot's Corvette to his parents, who lived in Baltimore, near York. Skip delivered the car in April, and returned to York, on military leave for two weeks. During this period, he met Linda on a "blind date." They were engaged two weeks later, and he returned to San Diego, in May 1963. In early June, Linda visited Skip in San Diego for two weeks, then returned to York to plan an August wedding. Skip flew a B-26 to Philadelphia in July to see Linda for a day, to contribute a minuscule amount of planning for the wedding. At this point they had spent three weeks together. In late July Skip detached from VU-7 and headed east, with everything he owned in his Volvo. In the remaining two weeks before the wedding the couple purchased bedroom furniture and found an apartment in Alexandria, Virginia. All other furniture was begged, borrowed, built, refinished, or bought at auction.

Two weeks after the wedding, following a honeymoon in Bermuda, Skip activated orders to Defense Intelligence School in Washington, DC. Following this nine-month course he served a tour of duty in the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), analyzing capabilities and employment of Soviet Surface-to Air guided missiles. Skip soon found himself facing these missiles, after transitioning to a Navy squadron (VA-196) flying A-6A Intruder all-weather bombers from the aircraft carrier USS Constellation in the Tonkin Gulf (Vietnam).

After two combat cruises and over 200 combat missions Skip was ordered to the Naval Air Rework Facility (NARF) in Norfolk, VA, for what he expected to be his final Navy assignment. With three children, the family took precedence over his love for Navy operations (and deployments). While at NARF he learned that there were assignments for naval aviators which involved flying, but did not include deployments. He withdrew his resignation from the Navy and changed his career path to Aeronautical Engineering Duty. His assignments in this specialty included A-6 Class Desk (managing A-6 assets of the Pacific Fleet) at Headquarters, Commander Naval Air Force, Pacific Fleet (in San Diego); Navy Postgraduate School (Monterrey, CA); Naval Air Test Center (Point Mugu, CA) as Range Development Officer; Navy Technical Representative for Harpoon Anti-ship Missile at McDonnell Douglas Corporation in St. Louis, MO; and (after promotion to Captain) Naval Plant Representative (NAVPRO), McDonnell Douglas Corporation, St. Louis, MO. The NAVPRO employed nearly 300 personnel, and was responsible for writing and monitoring government contracts, inspecting and accepting weapon system products for U.S. and foreign customers, engineering overview, etc. This assignment, where the assignment orders included the magical phrase "duty involving flying," authorized him to fly new Air Force F-15 aircraft and Navy F/A-18 aircraft, which were built by McDonnell Douglas. This assignment included close coordination with military representatives of the United Kingdom, Canadian, and Australian air forces, which were purchasing F-18 and Harrier (vertical takeoff and land) aircraft. He retired from the Navy on 1 February 1986. He had accumulated nearly 3,500 flight hours in more than 20 types of aircraft. He had also been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, twenty Air Medals, several Navy Commendation Medals, and other recognitions of achievement.

Following his Navy career Skip was employed by McDonnell Douglas Corporation in St. Louis, MO in support of the Harpoon Anti-ship missile program, including foreign customers of the Harpoon weapon system. In 1995 Skip and Linda purchased Hartke Nursery, a plant nursery and garden center in St. Louis County. Five years later they sold that business and moved to Bradenton, Florida, since their children seemed motivated to move in that direction (south). The children included Dan, Kate, Tim, and Matt. The next evolution included grandchildren Andrew, Kasey, Ashley, Joshua, Nicholas, and Connor. They have since been joined by great-grandchildren McKayla, Moira, Sophia, Aria, Grant, Beau, and Greyson.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, July 5th, 2026, at Robert Toale and Sons Funeral Home at Palms Memorial Park, 170 Honore Ave., Sarasota, Florida, 34232, with interment at the United States National Cemetery in Sarasota, Florida at 2:00 PM. Friends and family can contact [email protected] for additional details, or visit www.palmsrobartsfuneralhome.com to leave a condolence.