Suha Arkan

Suha Arkan, a man of warmth, quiet strength, and an extraordinary life that stretched across three continents, passed away peacefully on April 18, 2026. He was 81 years old.

Born on July 25, 1944, in Ankara, Türkiye, to Dr. Baha Arkan and Nejla Arkan, Suha grew up with a spirit of adventure and a natural athleticism that would define his early years. He was educated in Eskişehir, where he formed friendships that would last a lifetime -- bonds that endured across decades and oceans. In his youth, he distinguished himself as a basketball player, representing the Turkish national team and playing professionally in Turkish leagues, and as a dedicated serviceman who proudly fulfilled his military duty.

It was through the threads of friendship and international exchange that fate intervened. Suha met Lynn Aleen Cox of Modesto, California, through a mutual connection born of the American Field Service exchange program -- a meeting that would change both of their lives forever. After a courtship conducted across 7,000 miles and nurtured by letters and determination, Suha visited Modesto and made his intentions known. The two were married on October 6, 1968, at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Modesto, California. They would go on to build a life together that was as rich and wide-ranging as the world itself.

The couple began their married life in Istanbul, Türkiye, where Suha embarked on a distinguished career in airline operations management in 1969 with Pan American World Airways. It was this career that brought the family to the United States, first to San Francisco, California, and then to San Diego, where Suha joined Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) and the family put down roots and began raising their two sons. Over the years he held management positions in Long Beach, Oakland, and San Francisco. When US Airways acquired PSA in 1988, the family relocated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where Suha continued in multiple leadership positions at the airline. He and Lynn made their final home together in Avondale, Pennsylvania where he concluded his remarkable career as Managing Director of Operations. While in retirement his expertise was called on by former colleagues to serve as the Chief Operating Officer of Sama Airlines based in the Middle East and conduct multiple consulting engagements in diverse places such as Saudi Arabia, Japan, and China. 

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Suha was a man shaped by two cultures and enriched by both. He carried with him always the warmth and hospitality of his Turkish heritage, the enduring friendships forged all around the world, with family in Turkiye, France, Belgium, England, Germany, and the US, and an openness to the world that drew people to him wherever he went.

He was preceded in death by his siblings Sevim Yücesoy, Belma DuBost, Edil Mahruki, and Siyavuş Arkan.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 57 years, Lynn Arkan (née Cox); his sons, Erol Arkan of London, United Kingdom, and Kenan Arkan of Brooklyn, New York; his daughters-in-law Megan Abens and Abigail Pohlman; his grandchildren, Madeleine Arkan, Yvette Arkan, and Roman Arkan; and his siblings, Faruk Peker and Mavera Peker.

Suha Arkan lived fully -- as a leader, an athlete, a soldier, a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a man who carried the best of Türkiye with him into every chapter of an American life. He will be deeply missed by family and friends across the world he loved so well.

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