More detail on this person: Drew Sutfin Drew Sutfin, 87, a retired Army major and military aviator, who worked as a real estate and insurance broker, died September 26, 2007 at the Dorsett Regional Health Center of age-related causes. He lived in Spearfish. Drew was born in Wall, on January 26, 1920. He was one of nine children raised on a small farm outside of Wall. School was a break from the dusty farm work. "He was a good debater and speaker" said Bud Estes, a life-long friend and classmate at Wall. Earlier in his life, tragedy struck the family when his father died of burns from a fire at the gas station where he worked to supplement the family's farming income. He inherited his father's good-natured wit and out going personality. Drew, his sister Viva and 10 other Wall High School seniors were graduated in 1937. After graduation, he moved to Rapid City where he worked a variety of jobs and served in the South Dakota National Guard. During the early days of WW II he was a ship builder in Seattle, Washington, while waiting for commissioning as a Lt JG in the Navy's air corps and training as a combat pilot. After completing pilot training he was assigned to a coastal defense squadron that patrolled for Japanese balloon bombs. At the end of WW II he returned to South Dakota, where he and his brother started the Ford garage in Faith. He was a skilled mechanic. After settling in Faith, he met his Betty Jo Butler. They were married in 1948. By 1951 the Korean conflict was underway, when Drew returned to active duty as a Navy pilot. During the next 16 years he trained to fly a wide variety of military aircraft before retiring from the Navy in 1963. The family moved to Spearfish. Within a year, the defense department asked Drew to return to active duty. The Army needed pilots trained to fly helicopters as they implement a new warfare concept (air cavalry) using helicopter gunships and troop transports. Few then knew that the United States was preparing for a major build up in advance of the impending Vietnam conflict. On completing his training, he received orders to the Republic of Vietnam as part of an advance air cavalry combat assault unit. His unit, the Ninth Air Cavalry, used machetes and bulldozers to clear an air base from the jungle at An Khe. They kept their rifles close-at-hand to return fire from Viet Cong snipers. Over the ensuing months he flew daily combat missions throughout the highlands of Vietnam. The early days of the war's progress were bloody as the Army adapted to the difficulties of fighting an elusive Viet Cong army. Drew took time each day to write a letter to his family. These letters were reassuring to his family even when the details of that day's combat were relived in writing. His family was ever so happy to see him when he returned. Thereafter, Drew was a flight instructor preparing the next generation of Army combat helicopter pilots. In 1968, he retired a second time from active military duty. He was one of seven military pilots qualified to fly fixed-wing, rotary-winged, and single and multiple piston and jet engine aircraft. He returned to Spearfish to start a new career as a real estate and insurance agent at the Richards Sutfin Realty. He served on several Spearfish planning groups including the regional airport. In 1980, Drew and his partner sold their business and started their new careers as grandfathers. In his retirement years, he enjoyed reading, playing poker,woodworking, and making stained glass. Drew was a Mason and a member of the American Legion. He is survived by his wife, Betty Jo, and his three children and their families, David and Carol Sutfin of Falls Church, VA; Robert Sutfin and Diane McGuire of Shorewood, MN; and, Linda and Sidney Walker of Pequot Lakes, MN. His grandchildren and great grandchildren, all of whom he was most proud of, include Jon Sutfin, Sven Sjodin, Lauren Sutfin, Joseph Sutfin, and Brice Sutfin, and Micah, Caleb, Pierce, and Priscilla Sjodin. Two sisters Eunice (Billie) Rhodes of Salinas, KS, and Edythe Grundy of Yakima, WA, are living. He felt a great loss by the death of his granddaughter Dru Sjodin in 2003. Funeral service will be at the Spearfish Our Savior Lutheran Church Friday, October 5, with internment at the Black Hills National Cemetery, Sturgis, SD. A memorial has been established in the name of Drew Sutfin with Operation First Response, 306 Yellowstone Place, Spearfish, SD 57783. Operation First Response (www.operationfirstresponse.org) is aiding wounded members of the military and their families with financial assistance. Too many members of the military need financial help to meet the basics of their family's day-to-day requirements. OFR is providing help with transportation costs for medical services, utility bills, groceries, clothing and vehicle payments.
Burial information: Black Hills National Cemetery, Sturgis, SD
This information was last updated 09/03/2020
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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