Thomas Edward Seuss, 83, a longtime Holly Hill resident and a former resident of DeFuniak Springs, passed away Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006, after a long illness.
In his younger days, Seuss joined the Army the day after Pearl Harbor, became a fighter pilot, flew 99 combat missions in a P-47 in Europe, and landed a glider filled with paratroopers behind enemy lines during the crossing of the Rhine River, for which he Was awarded the Air Medal for spearheading an invasion. After the war, Seuss had a long career in sales and real estate.
Seuss loved animals and plants, making his pets members of the family and growing thousands of varieties of bromeliads and orchids. But mostly, he will be remembered as a master story teller. He would hold court with his many visitors and entertain them endlessly with hilarious tales tinged with just enough truth about his everyday life, a life that always seemed so much funnier when he was telling it.
Seuss is survived by his daughter, Patricia Burgess, DeFuniak Springs, FL; his son, David Seuss, Boston, MA; three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
A memorial service for Seuss was held at the Dale Woodward Funeral Home in Holly Hill, FL on Jan. 11. Burial followed in the Alaqua United Methodist Church [Cemetery] in DeFuniak Springs, FL.
The family requests that donations be made to the American Heart Association in his memory.
[Source: The DeFuniak Springs Herald, January 19, 2006, Page 7-B]
[Burial: Alaqua Methodist Church Cemetery, Steele Church]