Remembering Harry Sutherland, 1909-2009

Photo Credit: Dick Worsfold Jill and Harry Sutherland (center and right) hosting Harry's birthday party at Buckhorn Flat, July 11, 1990

Long-time outings leader Harry Sutherland passed away on his 100th birthday, July 9, 2009. Harry had one of the longest hiking careers of anyone in the Angeles Chapter, beginning in the 1940s and continuing well into the 1990s. Although he participated as a leader for many different groups over this period, Harry was most closely associated with the Local Hikes Committee, which drew upon his encyclopedic knowledge and remarkable route-finding abilities for decades.

Sutherland led his first outing on March 24, 1946, a hike up Eaton Canyon, for the Local Hikes Committee. Over the years to come, he also led for the Rock Climbing Section, Hundred Peaks Section, Desert Peaks Section, Ski Mountaineers Section, Sierra Songsters, and the Moonlight Hikes Committee. He chaired both the Rock Climbing Section (1951) and the Ski Mountaineers Section (1951-52).

Throughout the late 40s and early 50s, Sutherland served on a variety of chapter committees, including the Schedule Committee, Program Committee, Education Committee, and a two-year stint on the Executive Committee. Harry and his wife Jill were both actively involved with Harwood Lodge, serving on its management committee from 1949-54.

For his many years of service Harry Sutherland was presented a Special Service Award by the Angeles Chapter in 1982.

On the Local Hikes outing during which Harry's passing was announced, it turned out that ten of the twelve participants had hiked with Harry and remembered him well. In fact, the group was following a route down Mount Akawie that had been pioneered by Sutherland. It was a typical warm summer day and what everyone recalled with the greatest relish was how Harry and Jill would bring their camper to the trailhead once a year on or near Harry's birthday and have cake and ice cream waiting for the participants at the completion of the hike.