MICHAEL D. SUGGS-THETA EPSILON CHARTER PRYTANIS SCROLL #1
Mike Suggs was our first Chapter President and held scroll No.1. He
graduated from HSC (note difference) in 1960 with a degree in forestry.
To know him as the charter members did was to be aware of a tall fellow
with a dry (and sometimes vile) sense of humor. Dennis (DJ) McKinzie
would sometimes have to leave the dinner table at the old 1030 C Street
residence when Mike would get on a roll with up to the minute analogies
concerning what was served for dinner. Funny thing, DJ never again lived
in either 1030 C Street nor at 317 Laurel Drive.
Mike's moment of fame came from being the fellow on our charter petition
who was mowing the front lawn at 1030 C Street in a suit. Were it not
for an unrealistic vote turn around, I think that the eastern chapters
would have denied our active status. As a Field Rep. from some eastern
college told me: "what a collection you people are in that you go to
classes in jeans and sweatshirts yet do gardening work in a suit and
tie."
Mike had a very infectious smile and was always in some sort of good
humor. I cannot remember him ever getting angry with anybody. He had a
primary objective to bring the colony to active chapter status. This
meant carrying this goal through the leanest of times from when the
colony was started in 1958 to the chartering in spring of 1960. Were it
not for Mike's persistence, and Gary Peterson's considerable assistance,
I doubt that Theta Epsilon would have ever come to fruition at HSC.
Mike Suggs died on the operating table of a perforated ulcer in the
summer of 1960. He was 22 years old. I cannot understand why such a good
person had to be taken from us at such a young age.
The memory tends to fade after nearly 50 years and the accuracy might
not be as complete as it should be. If anybody can offer corrections
they would be welcomed.
.................................. Bruce Marshall #23
I was Mike Suggs' room mate his last year in school, in the old C street
house. To add to Bruce's memories, I remember Mike as having the
greatest sense of humor of anyone I have ever known. He would
regale us for hours with one ribald joke, ditty, and dirty song after
another. Living with Mike was one long laugh. He was also
organized and very purposeful. Mike was a very reluctant forestry
grad. He was well into his junior year in that major when he
discovered that he hated it. He felt, though, that it was too late
to change because he wanted to get out of school and get on with his
life, so he kept on and graduated on time.
I was working as a field secretary for the national office and visiting
a chapter in Michigan when I got the TEKE magazine with the story about
him dying. It was crushing. I felt, as Bruce did, that it
was such a waste. When he died he had just started a job with the
Los Angeles County dept of forestry. I never had a chance to ask
him how he liked it.
Chuck Muser # 30