David Sutherland
Join us in celebrating David—please share your stories and photos, and help spread the word about this page!
Dr. David Earl Sutherland, 82, of The Plains, died Monday, June 14, 2021, at Grant Medical Center in Columbus. David was born March 11, 1939 in Muskegon, Michigan. He was the son of Eugene Sutherland and Margaret (Deming) Sutherland. The family, including his brother Paul, lived in Michigan, Texas, and Louisiana, moving often for his father's work as a union organizer and Unitarian minister and his mother's work as a social worker. David began reading early and never stopped. He attended high school in Fort Worth, TX and Baton Rouge, LA while his brother left for New York City where he became a prominent ballet dancer. During these years, David became motivated to combat racial prejudice, which would inform his future studies. He had a strong sense of social justice, as did his parents. While in Texas he started playing the clarinet, which led to summers of band camp and playing in jazz, dance, and rock and roll bands.
After high school David attended the University of Kansas, majoring in math and sociology. He continued in graduate work in sociology and received his Ph.D. from KU. As a graduate student, he also did research in North Carolina, received a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, taught for two years at Norfolk State University in Virginia, and spent a year studying in Hamburg, Germany as an exchange and Fulbright Scholar. It was in Hamburg that he met his future wife, Carolyn, a fellow student in the program.
David entered the Sociology and Anthropology Department at Ohio University in 1970, where he became an Associate Professor. He continued teaching at OU for over 30 years. During the 1980s he started the Rural Gerontology Program to promote aging services in Appalachia. Partway through his time at OU, he changed paths and taught Management Information Systems in the College of Business. After retirement David continued to read voraciously in many academic and nonacademic areas. He played clarinet in the OU summer band and learned Tai Chi. He always loved cats and had three at home.
David is survived by his wife of 52 years, Carolyn Sutherland; two daughters, Laura (Steven Sigurdson) Sutherland and Erica Sutherland; his brother Paul Sutherland; grandson Walter Sigurdson; several nieces; a nephew; and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents and an infant sister.
No public funeral services will be conducted. A family gathering and interment at Clarks Chapel Cemetery will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Athens County Humane Society, https://www.athenshumane.org/. Please share a memory, a note of condolence or sign the online register at https://www.jagersfuneralhome.com/.