Cathy Jane Sutton
Cathy Jane Sutton, a Sitka resident since 1971, passed away at Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital on May 24, 2023. She was 75.
She was born January 26, 1948, to Melvin and Mary Grace Cook in Cherokee, Oklahoma.
Cathy attended Cherokee public schools and then went to Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, Oklahoma. In 1970 she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in language arts and French. She taught one year in the Hydro, Oklahoma, public high school.
In November 1967, Cathy married Frank Sutton. The two had met after she won an essay contest and an 11-day, all expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. She and Frank met inside the rotunda of the Capitol building while taking photos and looking at statues.
In July 1971, Frank accepted a position with the United States Public Health Service and was assigned to Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital in Sitka.
In November of that year Cathy, started teaching at the Mt. Edgecumbe High School and continued teaching there until it closed in 1983. She and many of the students had a letter-writing campaign to help convince the state government not to close the school. Today many of those students still affectionately call her Mrs. Sutton and reflect on her work with them as students, and how much she cared for them. Several of her students over the years became like children to Cathy and Frank.
Cathy’s children are Matthew Sutton of Anchorage, and Amy Sutton of Sitka. Cathy took great joy in her three grandchildren, Cate, Christopher and Chatham.
Cathy had a heart for people and had the gift of encouragement. She spent many hours picking “just the right card” and sending it to people across the country. She touched many lives from her dining room table. One of her friends called this Cathy’s love language. During her last days in the hospital before her death, she was telling Frank where the next cards were that needed to be mailed.
Funeral services will be held 10 a.m. Saturday, June 3, at Grace Harbor Church in Sitka. Visitation/viewing will be at the church beginning at 9 a.m. Interment will follow the service at Sitka Memorial Park.
Cards of condolence for the family may be sent to Frank Sutton, Box 677, Sitka, Alaska 99835.
