On Saturday, December 12th, Paul Gordon Sutliff passed away.
Almost from the day he was born, Paul had his eyes on the sky. Born in Missoula, Montana on December 20th, 1952, to Viola and Bernard Sutliff, Paul grew up in Walla Walla, Washington with his two brothers John and Jim. He worked with his father at the local pharmacy and spent summers with his family working his grandparents’ farm in Montana. All the while, he was fascinated by planes and the pilots that flew them. Much to the dismay of his mother, he was constantly buying and building model airplanes. So much so, that the rule became, “No new models until you get rid of an old one.” While the intent was probably donation or trash, the Sutliff brothers took this as a challenge of destruction. The boys used fireworks, pellet guns, and various other methods to dispose of the older models. Paul graduated High School and pursued his dream of flight at the Air Force Academy. The first in the family to seek an Armed Forces career, his love of flying would meet its match on a blind date at the Broadmoor; for it was there that he met his soon-to-be wife, Nina Perrins.
Paul graduated from the Academy and married Nina in 1976, and the newlyweds began their tour of the world together, being stationed in Germany, Korea, and across the United States. Just about 10 years into their journey together they would be joined by their first and only child, Aaron Sutliff. Together the newly complete family continued to move around the globe, collecting memories, pets, and one piece of German furniture that would dictate their housing for decades to come.
Paul trained new pilots in multiple aircraft, worked with NATO, and handled operations of the Western Air Defense Sector. His favorite assignments, however, were always the ones that placed him in the cockpit. So, despite the original plan to retire in Washington state, when the opportunity to get back behind the stick of Q-F4’s arose, the family moved for one last active-duty assignment in Panama City, Florida. It would be there that Paul would finally retire from the Air Force after 26 years of service, but it would not quite end his time in the cockpit. He would continue to fly for various defense contractors at Tyndall Air Force Base. After Aaron graduated college, Paul and Nina finally put down permanent roots in Colorado Springs, returning to the Academy area where their adventures began. His personal speech at Aaron’s wedding still sticks with his son and daughter-in-law to this day, that a marriage is a team.
When he finally fully retired, despite being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, Paul remained committed to helping others. As long as he was cognizant, he walked dogs, trained other volunteers, and entertained everyone in his memory care wing with his dancing shuffle, and his little stuffed animals.
Paul passed away in his unit at the assisted living community from liver and kidney failure due to Alzheimer’s. Paul is survived by Nina and Aaron, his wife and son, his brothers, John and Jim, and his mother, Viola Jones. In lieu of flowers, his family would prefer donations to the Alzheimer’s Association. Plans for a memorial service will be made at some point later in 2021, when it is safer and easier for Paul’s friends and loved ones to gather. Paul will be missed, but his spirit can now fly free.
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