Suzette was born on December 10, 1922, in Scarsdale New York to Paul Alphonse Henri VanDaell and Roselle Taylor VanDaell. Her paternal grandparents emigrated from Germany in the 1880s and were professors of language at Harvard. Suzette’s father was a fisherman/farmer, and her mother was from Harbour Grace, Newfoundland. She had two sisters Claire and Paula. Suzette and Paula often teamed up against Claire, their older sister. Paula and Suzette would remain close throughout their lives. The family lived at 18 Montrose Lane in Scarsdale, a rather well-to-do neighborhood and her father held seats on the New York Stock Exchange.
In 1942, Suzette graduated from Colby Jr. College in New London, New Hampshire near Dartmouth College, an Ivy League school for men only. She worked in the DCAC (athletic office) and sold tickets to sporting events. It was there she met her future husband, Henry Tom Douglas who was attending Dartmouth. When Tom enlisted as a Naval cadet for flight training, she became interested in becoming a pilot herself., She was very headstrong and believed if a man could do it, so could she. Suzette chose to be an active participant in the war effort. Earning her pilot’s license on her own, she tried a couple of times to enter the WASP program and was finally accepted into class 44-W-10 at Avenger Field Sweetwater, Texas on May 26, 1944, where she trained to fly military planes. Tom and Suzette became engaged during training before the WASP program disbanded on December 20, 1944. They were married on October 20, 1945, at Whidby Island, Washington while Tom was assigned as a naval officer in pilot training for the US Navy in Sagit, Washington. They moved around the country from Aurora, Ohio, to Glenshaw, Pennsylvania, and finally to Arlington Heights, Illinois, and had four children Chip, Paul, Nancy, and Scott. As her children grew, Suzette was an avid supporter of their athletics and activities. She and Tom loved to travel and visited many exotic places in Asia, Europe, and Africa. They also enjoyed sports together, winning many tennis and golf championships at Biltmore Country Club. After Tom died in 1990, Suzette continued her travels to places like Cape Cod, Florida, and Mexico. She started working again at the Rivers Trail Tennis Club and volunteered at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library. Suzette was an active WASP member attending class reunions, air shows, and other public WASP events such as the Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony in 2010.
Written by: Ann Haub | Collections Director
Photos courtesy: National WASP WWII Museum Archives
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Partner with the WASP Archive in achieving its mission to collect, protect, preserve, and provide access to materials that chronicle the WASP story, its legacy, and the personal and professional lives of its pilots. New artifacts are always welcome. Please call Ann Haub at 325-235-0099 or by emailing her at ann@waspmuseum.org.