Elizabeth Shortlidge Surla, Class of 1935

America’s Great Depression, which we learn about in history books today, was a very present reality for American high school students of the 1930’s. A crippled economy put millions out of work, left many homeless, and cast doubts on the bright promise of the American Dream. Then, as the decade ended, violent wars broke out in Asia and in Europe, presenting new challenges for young Americans like Elizabeth Surla.

By 1942, not long after Mrs. Surla graduated from college, the United States had entered World War II, and our military was expanding at a dramatic rate. Women were accepted into separate, volunteer branches of the Army and the Navy, and before long Elizabeth Surla was wearing the uniform of a Lieutenant in the Navy’s WAVES: that’s “Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service.” She may not have realized it at the time, but for the rest of her life those key words “Volunteer” and “Service” would come to define Mrs. Surla’s philosophy and describe the active role she would play in her community, nation and world.

Because she believed so strongly in the importance of education, Mrs. Surla was a generous supporter of public and private schools and of public television in Durham, North Carolina. At her alma mater, Duke University, she contributed to the Women’s Studies Program, served on the Women’s Studies Council, and sponsored a lecture in honor of her mother, Florence Shortlidge, who was also an Oxford graduate.

Mrs. Surla supported the American Friends Service Committee in its struggle to support social justice, to oppose violence and war, and to encourage development in Third World countries. Similarly, she also contributed to the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, and to UNHCR, the UN branch that helps refugees such as those in war-torn Afghanistan. Her remarkable life ended with her passing in 2005. - John Bradley