Lawrence A. Surat, Sr

US Army Veteran,

NYC Firefighter

Lawrence A. Surat, Sr, 89, of Newtown, died January 4. He was born September 1, 1921, on a farm in South Dakota, near Pukwana.

He attended a prairie school through the fourth grade, but due to the draught, dust storms, and grasshopper plagues that swept through the Plain States during the late 1920s, he was sent to live with relatives in Staten Island, N.Y.

He was appointed to the New York City Fire Department in 1942, but was inducted into the Army that same year. He served in the Army Air Force in Europe with the 386th Bomb Group, 553rd Squadron, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. He won recognition for inventing a more efficient system for loading bombs, requiring half the man-hours and time to load. He returned from the war to the NYC Fire Department in 1946.

During his career, he was steadily promoted, becoming deputy chief in 1967 and ending his career as deputy assistant chief and deputy commander of Brooklyn in 1976.

Mr Surat was active in the Catholic Church in Staten Island and he was the vice president of the SI Little League the year that they won the Little League World Championship (1964). He was a gifted athlete, and a finalist in the NYC amateur tennis championships, and he represented the Army and the NYC Fire Department on the basketball, tennis, and bowling teams. He was a talented golfer and had a competitive handicap into his eighties. Larry was a member of the Newtown Country Club until he was 87 years old, and until he retired from the club, he was always up for a good game of golf.

Larry is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Mildred Surat; and his four devoted children, Ellen Barron of Fort Meyers, Fla., Jean Kunkel of Sherman, Lawrence Surat, Jr, of Danbury, and Susan Prince of Walden, N.Y. He has seven surviving grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. His beloved grandson Christiaan Surat passed away in 2008.

Friends may call at the Honan Funeral Home, 58 Main Street, Newtown, Saturday, January 8, from noon to 3 pm. A Service of Remembrance will follow at 3 pm.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers donations be made in Mr Surat’s name to The Danbury Hospital Development Fund, 24 Hospital Avenue, Danbury CT 06810, or danburyhospital.org.

The Newtown Bee        January 7, 2011