He cherished the history and tradition of the Pittsburg State University track & field program. Influenced as an athlete by the all-time Gorilla greats Garfield W. Weede and Prentice Gudgen, David Suenram ultimately carved out his own legacy over two decades as track coach and athletic director at his alma mater.
 
The man generally considered "the third pillar in the history of PSU track & field" died peacefully Saturday, Sept. 5, in Mountain Home, Ark., at age 80. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Norma Jean, and a son, Jack Suenram, of Omaha, Neb.
 
A Celebration of Life will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, in his hometown of Moundridge, Kansas at the Moundridge Funeral Home.
 
 "Coach Suenram had a great appreciation for the history of Pittsburg State athletics and for the achievements and contributions made by the student-athletes and coaches of years past," said PSU cross country/track & field coach Russ Jewett, who competed for Suenram as an athlete and was hired by the man to take over the Gorillas coaching reins. "He frequently shared stories and anecdotes from his previous years as coach or as a member of teams in the Prentice Gudgen era as well as some passed along to him by Doc Weede from the early years of the program. He helped us to understand that our heritage and tradition were important to the current team's success and that our success would in turn be part of that great tradition in the future. He taught us the importance of building a legacy and giving to the tradition of the program."
 
Like so many other athletes who competed for Suenram, Pitt State alum Marcus Canipe's reflections of the man are so much more than just his role as "coach".
 
"When my teammates and I tell our stories and remember Coach Suenram, we can say some of the same things that he told us about those giants that came before us: 'he was as outstanding of a man as there ever was.' He cared about our welfare as much as what we did on the track. He was our ally in college. He gave us the encouragement we wanted, and the lectures we needed. He followed our lives after we were gone, knew our families, provided support for those who entered the coaching profession, and then he made that transition from coach to friend."
 
Suenram served as the men's cross country for 21 seasons beginning in 1967, guiding Pitt State to seven conference titles. He served 19 seasons as men's track & field coach (1968-86), leading the Gorillas to seven league titles in an eight-year span between 1979-86.
 
His track & field teams placed in the top 10 five times at the NAIA National Championships, highlighted by a fifth-place team finish in 1985 and sixth-place showings in 1983 and 1986. He coached nine athletes to national championship performances in track & field.
 
Suenram's cross country teams also scored top 10 national finishes in 1975, 1977 and 1980; and he coached athlete Mike Nixon to an individual national championship in 1972.

"We had some great distance runners back in the '70s. It was the era of Jim Ryun, Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter, and many others," Canipe said. "Pittsburg's record board and all-time lists still reflects the sheer number of good runners that ran for Coach Suenram. When Mike Nixon won the NAIA cross country championships, he was racing against several Olympians and world-class competition. There was more depth in all events in track & field."
 
"Coach Suenram had an enormous positive influence on me and scores of other young men he coached," Jewett said. "He had very high expectations of his guys in terms of work ethic, commitment to the team and intensity of effort as a competitor. He was very demanding, but also fair and compassionate. He didn't hand out an abundance of compliments to his athletes, but when you got a pat on the back from him, it really meant something. You always knew where you stood with Coach Suenram. He never told you something just because he thought that's what you wanted to hear – he told you what you needed to hear. And he wasn't a shouter or yeller, but he had a quiet, piercing intensity about him that was louder than any voice could be."
 
As athletic director from 1983-88, Suenram was instrumental in PSU's transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II membership. He championed the effort to bring women's cross country and track & field in as fully supported intercollegiate sports at Pitt State in the Fall of 1986; and he spearheaded the effort to renovate Carnie Smith Stadium – including the addition of the August & Helen Rua Press Box – in the late 1980s.
 
Suenram also made a lasting impact on the Pitt State football program in 1985 by hiring former head coach Dennis Franchione who led the resurgence of the Gorillas to the national prominence they have enjoyed the past three decades.
 
He also provided the framework and guidance for the creation of the Pitt State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1993, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for Meritorious Achievement.
 
Following his retirement in 1995, Suenram often traveled across the Midwest to serve as starter for high school and college meets, including Pittsburg State University. In 2009, Jewett named the Gorilla Classic, held annually the second weekend in April, in his honor. On Apr. 11, 2015, Pitt State hosted the 7^th Annual David Suenram Gorilla Classic at Prentice Gudgen Track.
 
Jewett and Canipe both are certain of the permanent legacy Suenram forged during his service to Pittsburg State University.
 
"Everyone who knew him, especially anyone who was coached by him, has a 'Coach Suenram story'," Jewett said. "That is a testament to his unique and genuine personality and his intensely competitive nature. Everyone who was ever coached by Coach Suenram was a better man because of it – that I promise you. Coach leaves a lasting legacy here at Pitt State through his leadership and accomplishments as Director of Athletics and through the success his teams achieved. But the character he instilled in all the young men who were fortunate enough to compete for him will be the strongest part of his legacy."  
 
"Coach Suenram and his contemporaries shared an empathy with their athletes that many coaches today do not," Canipe said. "Many of them saw tough times growing up after the Depression, and they were willing to spend their time and often their own money to help their athletes get through college and realize their potential. In the era where college and professional sports have become a big business with all the sponsorships, fundraising, and celebrity coaches, it's comforting to know that Pittsburg State has not lost perspective when it comes to honoring 'the giants that have come before us.' I hope that we'll be able to properly recognize Coach Suenram so that future generations of students and athletes will remember his contributions to the university and understand what he meant to an entire generation of Gorillas."