Cecil Sutherland

Cecil C. Sutherland, 92, passed away on December 8, 2014 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was born October 26, 1922 in Stambaugh, Michigan to Joseph and Clara Sutherland.

He was a star football and basketball player in high school.

Cecil joined the Army after Pearl Harbor and he served in Europe as a welder and aircraft mechanic. He then joined the Air Force where he became a flight engineer on transport aircraft, including B-26, C-119, and C-123. He served in Korea and Vietnam wars before retiring in 1974 as a MSgt with 30 years of military service. He earned multiple awards including a Bronze Star.

During his military career, he lived in Japan, California, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Guam. He met his wife, Arlene, while he was stationed in Japan at the end of WWII. She preceded him in 2000. He lived in Chicopee, Massachusetts from 1964 until 2007, before moving to Puyallup, Washington. He moved to Colorado Springs in 2008.

Cecil is survived by a sister, Lilly Johnson; three children: Mary; Cecil (wife, Carla); and Nancy (husband, Robert). He has four grandchildren, seventeen great-grandchildren, and four step-great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by five brothers, two sisters, and his son, Mitsaki.

Memorial Services will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 14, 2014 at Mountain View Mortuary, 2350 Montebello Square Drive. A reception will follow at Mimi’s Café, 3005 New Center Point.