Elsie Louise Sutherland

Elsie Louise Sutherland (nee Peterson) passed away peacefully on June 10, 2026 at the age of 90 at Clarehouse in Tulsa, OK. Born to William Ernest Peterson and Nola Emma (Pearce)Peterson on December 9,1935 in Dustin, OK, she was the youngest of four, along with Opal Lee Kirkland, Andrew Nelson Peterson, and Clarence Edgar Peterson, who all predeceased her. She is survived by her daughters, Debora K. Gutierrez and Donna G. Rodriguez, five grandchildren (Andrew, Laurence, Alyssa, Ruben, and Phillip), and eight great-grandchildren(Kiana, Marissa, Sabrina, Sven, Kristi Sioux, Korban, Frances, and Sunny), also her stepchildren Gary D. Sutherland and Cindy Brown, surviving children of the love of her life, Clifton Gerald “Jerry” Sutherland who died in 1986.

Her childhood and adolescence, which spanned the Great Depression, WWII, and the Korean War, was largely spent on the family farm where she helped tend the animals and rode her pony Ball with her friends. As a young wife and mother, she was a talented seamstress, often creating unique outfits for herself and her little girls, as well as their Barbie dolls. In 1963, the family traveled the world with a stop in Khartoum, Sudan on behalf of a US international aid program.

While in Sudan, she began her life-long career in education. An outstanding student herself, she first taught at the Omdurman Girls Intermediate School. Upon the family’s return to the States, she settled in Bakersfield, CA, earning degrees from Bakersfield Junior College and Fresno State College Bakersfield Extension. Subsequently, she taught fifth grade at Stine, Castle,Van Horn, and Panama Elementary Schools in the Panama Buena Vista School District, retiring in the mid-1990s to pursue gardening and genealogy research.

In 2018, she returned to her birth state of Oklahoma, taking up a rural life once again. She enjoyed quiet pursuits like reading and viewing British mysteries, watching her great-grandchildren grow, and, tech-savvy for her generation, keeping in touch with far-flung friends and family through email, texts, and social media.

A private graveside service will be held on Saturday, June 20, 2026 to honor this bright, independent woman who was beloved by so many.

The family of Elsie Sutherland has entrusted her care and cremation to Mallett Funeral Home and Crematory, 417 East Cherokee Street, Wagoner, Oklahoma, 74467. 918-485-2911