Arthur P. Sussman

Arthur Paul Sussman, age 94, passed away peacefully on June 10, 2021. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Mary Jane; and his parents, Arthur E. and Elizabeth Sussman. He is survived by his daughters, Pamela O'Rourke and Deborah Geppert (Jerald) of Richmond, Virginia. Arthur was a faithful and enthusiastic member of Little Flower Parish following his baptism into the Catholic Church in 1959. He was especially grateful for the privilege of taking the Eucharist to the sick and elderly, many of whom were younger than he!

Following his World War II service in the U.S. Navy as an aviation electronics technician, Arthur graduated summa cum laude in 1949 from the University of Toledo as an electrical engineer. He was a member of Tau Beta Pi, Beta Kappa Nu and Phi Kappa Phi scholastic honor societies. He then joined the Toledo Edison Company where he worked his entire career until retiring in 1985. For the last 26 years at Toledo Edison, he was Superintendent of System Operations responsible for the operation of the generators, substations, transmission lines and administration of contracts for the purchase and sale of power for a service territory of 2500 square miles. Art maintained his Registered Professional Engineer designation throughout his career and was a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

During his naval service, he discovered a love of flying and got his private pilot's license in 1959. After he retired, Arthur helped his friend, Kris Szmania build an experimental Glasair plane. Art and Mary Jane flew many air miles in the Glasair, coast to coast and throughout the U.S. He maintained a private instrument rating and flew in actual instrument weather after the age of 90 and simulated instrument conditions after age 93. He accumulated 2830 hours of flight time over 60 years, 1530 of which were in actual or simulated instrument conditions. He flew his last instruments on February 3, 2020 and stopped because of the COVID pandemic. In 2010, he was presented the Federal Aviation Administration's Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for over 50 years of flying without bending any airplanes. He also was a member of the United Flying Octogenarians.

A Mass of the Resurrection will be held at Little Flower Catholic Church, 5522 Dorr Street, on June 24th at 10:00 a.m. The family will receive visitors at the church one hour prior to the service; masks supplied for anyone not vaccinated. Entombment at Resurrection Cemetery will be private. In lieu of flowers, it was Arthur's wish that contributions be made to the Little Flower School Endowment Fund or the Mary and Arthur Sussman Perpetual Endowment Fund for Annunciation Radio of the Catholic Diocese of Toledo. It also was his most sincere wish that attendees at his funeral be inspired by the beautiful and sacred Catholic funeral Mass, which inspired him to join the Church many years ago. The family would like to especially thank Kris Szmania and Len Doton, Art's flying buddies, for their years of friendship and many kindnesses shown to their dad, his niece, Karen, who visited him faithfully while he was in hospice, and all dad's friends and relatives who called and visited during the last months of his life. The family also extends its gratitude to the skilled and caring staff at the Hospice of Northwest Ohio's Perrysburg center on River Road. Art loved them all. Thos. I. Wisniewski Funeral Home handling arrangements (419)531.4424.

www.wisniewskifuneral.net

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