Michael Sutin

1935 - 2019

Michael G. Sutin



Michael Gary Sutin, humanist, loving husband and father, respected and exemplary Albuquerque and Santa Fe attorney, consummate hiker, and noted poet, died on September 7, 2019, at his daughter Ellen's home in Austin, Texas. The following day, wrapped in a shroud, with burial Kaddish read aloud, he was laid to rest in Eloise Woods Community Natural Burial Park in Cedar Creek, Texas.

Michael was born June 6, 1935 in Terre Haute, Indiana. Michael's father, Lewis R. Sutin (The Great Dissenter, Amazon 2017) and mother, Eloise Brown, left Terre Haute in December 1945, settling in Albuquerque on January 1, 1946. Michael was a graduate of Bandelier Grade School, Jefferson Junior High School, and Highland High School. Mike was a lover of pseudonyms and at Highland, his were Whitey Pistachio, Steve Grizonavich and Whately Petunias. During high school, Michael played baseball, was a thespian, and worked as a sports stringer and reporter for the Albuquerque Journal.

After three years at University of Arizona, where he met and married his love, Esther Sacherson, Michael received his LLB degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law. Michael then joined the small but exceptional law firm started by his father and Irwin S. Moise. They were joined by Franklin Jones, Norman Thayer, and Michael.

The firm, renamed Sutin, Thayer & Browne, expanded over time to sixty or more lawyers, reaching a level of great respect and influence. Michael's specialties were real estate, public prescriptive easements, mortgage finance, trusts, estates, wills and contracts, and probate. He was highly regarded in the legal community and was recognized by or elected to national legal organizations. And he was the managing partner of the firm for several years. In 1986, Michael and Esther moved to Santa Fe, and Michael worked in the firm's Santa Fe office.

Michael was engaged in many civic pursuits for the betterment of the Albuquerque & Santa Fe communities. Of mention, he was instrumental in passage of a fair housing ordinance in Albuquerque; was involved in lobbying the passage of state human rights legislation; was a leader in the Jewish Welfare Fund, United Jewish Appeal, and Israel Bond organizations; was successfully involved with significant First Amendment church-state litigation; and was vocal in regard to First Amendment speech rights.

Michael played a significant part in the restructuring of Santa Fe Economic Development, Inc. to concentrate on promotion of jobs and enhance business development, and he served on the city's Urban Policy Committee. He also incorporated and served on the first board of directors of the Historic Neighborhood Association.

Upon retiring, Michael and Esther moved to Austin to be near their daughter, Ellen. Esther, a respected and well-known artist, died in 2017, and was also buried in Eloise Woods.

Michael was an avid mountain hiker and daily runner. He headed the New Mexico Mountain Club and hiked every known trail in the Sandia Mountains. Not content, Michael summited Wheeler Peak in Taos, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Whitney, moving on to glaciers in Mexico and Ecuador.

Michael started his serious poetic adventure in Santa Fe. His poems appeared in various publications and in his own anthologies, including Voices from the Corner/Voces del Rincon (Pennywhistle Press 2001), Naked Ladies on the Road (Sunstone Press 2005), and Graven Images (Sunstone Press 2008), the latter winning the 2008 New Mexico Book Awards competition.

Michael is survived by his three children: Jennifer Leonard, Ellen Macdonald, and Brian Sutin; grandchildren: Ben and Zak Leonard, Ian and Sam Macdonald, Nathan Zhang Sutin, and step grandchild David Wang; sons-in-law and daughter-in-law: John Leonard, Paul Macdonald, and Fang Zhang (Rose) Sutin; brother: Jonathan B. Sutin and his spouse Malka Sutin, their three children: Elyana McCeney, Jessica Ashcroft, and Joshua Sutin; their spouses Michael McCeney, William Ashcroft, and Miranda Sutin; and Jonathan and Malka's eight grandchildren; Michael's sister in law: Bette Allen and her spouse Jack and their two children: Marc Allen and Julia Meissner.

Those who wish to write to the family are directed to send their mail to Ellen Macdonald at 3404 Shinoak Dr., Austin, TX, 78731.