Susanna “Susy” (Srubar) Flory (Class of 1983)

Susy Flory (class of 1983) is the New York Times bestselling author or co-author of eleven books, including an upcoming memoir, The Sky Below, with NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski, the only man ever to fly in space and climb Mount Everest. Susy has been working with Scott over the last year on his book and this relentless explorer’s unforgettable adventures span the globe.

She taught high school English and journalism at RCS for six years, leaving in 2004 to write full time.

Susy’s first book, Fear Not Da Vinci, was co-written with Gini Monroe (another RCS English teacher) and published in 2006. Two of her books have made the New York Times bestsellers list: The Good, The Bad, and the Grace of God, with Jep and Jessica Robertson (Harper Collins, 2015), and Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero (Harper Collins/Thomas Nelson, 2011), co-written with Michael Hingson. Thunder Dog has been translated into over 15 languages and is being used in schools.

Susy and her husband, Robert, have two adult children, both former RCS students: Ethan graduated from Redwood Christian High School in 2008 and serves in the US Navy’s Nuclear Engineering program, and Teddy works in Wildlife Rehabilitation in the Sierras.  Susy teaches at 3Crosses Church of Castro Valley, runs a local writers group, and directs the West Coast Christian Writers Group.  Her website is www.susyflory.com.

John Clarkson (Class of 1983) <jbclarkson@earthlink.net>

Upon graduation from Redwood Christian High School, John earned a Navy ROTC scholarship and went to the University of Southern California.   At USC, he majored in Economics and was looking forward to serving in the military.  He also rowed on the varsity crew team.  John switched from the Navy ROTC program and into a USMC (US Marine Corps) program that would allow him to go to Law School.  Upon graduation in 1987 and commissioning into the Marine Corps, he went on to Law School at Southwestern University and earned his J.D. in 1990.

In 1997, John was granted an interservice transfer to the Army.  He served in the Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps until his retirement in 2014, having served twenty-nine years (twenty-four on active duty).  John retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Army.

John is happily married to the former Leslie Fincher of Atlanta, Georgia and live on acreage in the Texas Hill Country and enjoy spending time with their seven Labradors and three horses.  John’s mother lives on the property adjacent to their property so they are blessed to have the opportunity to see her regularly.

John is semi-retired, but keeps active his license to practice law active.  John and Leslie are members of the Hillside Fellowship in Spring Branch, Texas.