Lawrence ‘Larry’ Sutin

The family would like to thank the staff of the hospital for their care in his last days, and the supportive and nurturing staff at the Saranac Lake Village at Will Rogers in Saranac Lake, where he lived for seven years as well as the Samuel F. Vilas home in Plattsburgh, where he spent the last year of his life.

Larry is survived by his children: Deborah Fitts and her husband Daniel Fitts of Lake Placid, Tamara Sutin and her husband Tony Drollette of Plattsburgh, and Randall Sutin and his wife Marianne Straus Sutin of Abington, Pennsylvnia; his sister Elaine Sutin Teicher; and niece Susan Teicher of Urbana, Illinois; nephew David Teicher of Westport, Connecticut; and sisters-in-law Carol Massas of Huntington Beach, California and Joan Northern of Phoenix, Arizona. His beloved grandchildren include Rachel Bombardier Snow of Plattsburgh, Laurel Fitts of Philadelphia, Pennsylvnia, Jessica Fitts of Lake Placid, Walter Sutin of San Diego, California, Hannah Sutin of Brooklyn, and Richard Fitts; and great-grandchildren: Fiona Rose Fitts and Arlo Daniel Fitts of Portland and Salem, Oregon.

Larry was predeceased by his wife Barbara Ford Sutin, who passed in 1994.

Larry was a first generation American born on Aug. 9, 1920, in Cleveland, Ohio to Joseph and Henrietta (Tishkoff) Sutin.

He graduated from East Technical High School in Cleveland, Ohio and after graduation worked in a factory making radio antennas. In 1941, he began working for the War Department as an inspector of GM and Firestone industrial tire plants.

He joined the U. S. Army in 1943 as an Ammunition NCO and served in World War II in the New Guinea Campaign, Southern Philippines Campaign, and Luzon Campaign. He received the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon with three bronze stars, Philippines Liberation Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. During his service he was stationed in the Philippines, Tokyo, Japan and Australia. After his honorable discharge in 1945, he continued to work for the Army as a civilian in Tokyo where he was the chief clerk of the Labor Division, Economic and Scientific Section of GHQ.

He joined the Foreign Service Office of the State Department in 1949, serving first in Dakar, French West Africa, then in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and finally as assistant to the Counsel General in Sao Paulo, Brazil. While working in Sao Paulo he met and married his wife, Barbara, in 1953.

After marrying, Larry and Barbara moved to Great Falls, Montana where Larry worked in photography and was a partner in the Blueprint and Letter Co. printing business before returning to work for the government, this time the U.S. Census Bureau. In 1960, Larry joined the U.S. Customs service, first stationed in Trailcreek then Sweetgrass, Montana, before transferring in 1966 to the stations in Champlain and Rouses Point. He served as secretary of the local branch of the National Customs Service Association, the labor group that represented Customs inspectors at the time. He also was a Chairman of their national Wage and Hour Committee. At his retirement in 1984 he was serving as the Supervisory Inspector for the Port of Champlain.

Larry was a lover of all modes of classical arts, especially classical music, himself being a musician who for many years taught piano from his home in Rouses Point. Larry frequently played organ at St. Patrick’s church in Rouses Point, and supported youths’ passion for music by accompanying them for their NYSSMA auditions and various school performances. He served as a volunteer with the Champlain Valley Orchestral Society in Plattsburgh, and routinely played piano for Sunday sing-alongs for the years he lived at the Saranac Village at Will Rogers in Saranac Lake.

He was a lifelong enthusiast of anything scientific or electrical, and provided his family in Cleveland, Ohio with one of the first telephones to a residential address in the city. He was a HAM radio operator whose call letters were N70TH. As an active member of the Tri-Lakes Amateur Radio Club, his favorite volunteer activity was assisting with the Tupper Lake Tin Man and Lake Placid Ironman races.

Friends and family are invited to gather at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 11 at the M.B. Clark Inc., funeral home in Lake Placid, where a short tribute to his life will be held at noon.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Larry’s favorite charities: Doctors Without Borders or the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) or any other charity of your choice. https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif.

Relatives and friends are invited to share a memory or leave condolences at www.mbclarkfuneralhome.com.