William Kirkland Sutlive Jr.

William Kirkland Sutlive, Jr. - Savannah - William Kirkland Sutlive, Jr. died at Hospice House Friday, March 24, 2006 after a stoical battle with cancer. "I know I have this thing, but I still cannot believe it," he said. He was a lively, loving man whose pensive, mellow, mahogany-brown eyes crackled with the fierce light of his vigorous, creative lifeÉa wise man who studied life with a bold eye, generous dignity, and a steady spirit. He loved Savannah. He loved people. Savannah and its people returned that love. He was preceded in death by his parents Kathleen and Kirk Sutlive. Survivors include his wife Lucy Sutlive of Savannah; three daughters, Karen (John) Oliver, Maureen Taylor, and Mary Ann Sutlive, all of Atlanta; two sons, Gregory (Stephanie) Sutlive of Columbus, Georgia, Barry (Scarlett) Sutlive of Atlanta, and a stepson, Nicholas (Gemma) Anderson of Atlanta; and three brothers, Charles ((Rhonda) Sutlive, Dr. William (Betty) Sutlive of Savannah, and Harvey (Jimmie) Sutlive of St. Augustine, Florida; and ten grandchildren. Sutlive was born in Savannah on February 28, 1926. As a youth, he attended the old Marist School for boys on Lafayette square, graduating in its last class, 1939. He finished high-school at Benedictine in 1943, and shortly thereafter entered the United States Army in his eighteenth year. Apprehensions were rampant in this midyear of World War II. Kirk was to be stationed in faraway California. His father called him in for a be -calm-farewell- and-good-advice talk. He had never been away from home before but he believed even then that you should always try to do whatever you are afraid to do. "So my dad and I sat down for his wise words." Sutlive chuckles in remembrance. The gist of the fatherly advice was "Kirk, be careful out there. You'll meet a lot of women, a lot of women. None of them are going to be like your mother." Out of the military service in 1947, Sutlive wrangled a job at Union Camp as an Engineer's Assistant for acouple of years before moving up to the Safety Department to train supervisors-the meager beginning of a unique forty-two year career with the company. This position was the first of several which Sutlive said defined him as a "corporate gypsy." From the Box Plant at Union Camp Sutlive ascended to a steady string of sales and management positions in the Container Division in Florida, Ohio, and New Jersey. For five years, 1975 - 80, he was Vice-president of the Braniger Organization, Union Camp's land development subsidiary which developed The Landings. Later in Savannah, he was named Vice-President and General Manager of Union Camp Corporation's Container Division. In 1990, he recalls, "I felt the voice of Savannah earth and returned to my birthplace." He found homecoming rewarding, as anyone who knew him or spoke to him immediately recognized. He exuded an aura of pure creative energy-always making plans, tending his flowers, working in theatre groups, developing his electronic skills; he was poetically expressive in the southern idiom amply laced with rich oleos of Latinate lingo: "I am an inveterate punster." A friend said, "Kirk would tie a knot in the tail of the English language on any subject, at any time." Sutlive recalled working on the development of Skidaway: "All of us were kinda playing it by instinct, like a golf course we'd never seen." He smiles, "But our creative juices spurted. We all were patting each others' backs. We probably should have fired ourselves." His father settled him down one day by asking: "Kirk, how's your humility these days?" It was a question that "calmed me, deflated me constructively," and stirred a new introspection. "I was really enjoying life then." On the job 50 to 60 hours a week throughout his career, he found simple ways to entertain himself-golfing, reading, and making people laugh. "There's nothing better than making people laugh. And I could be kinda cute on my feet." It was an instinctive skill that he found useful on the frequent occasions he was called on to Emcee every sort of holiday, celebration, or occasion-United Way, Cancer Drives, Red Cross, and Battered Women. A deeply inbred service to others was fixed in Sutlive's DNA. He was a communicant of St. George's Episcopal Church and a member of the Savannah Golf Club , and the Chatham Club. He was not a man to boast about his accomplishments. But he was pleased with his full life of service. Talent may frolic and juggle; genius realizes and adds. His work, his family, and his infectious joie de vivre drove and lifted him. He could labor as hard and as long as anyone. It was fun. "I hated, in a way, to see Friday come." Except for golf and sailing. He would show you a framed under glass hole-in-one memento scorecard of a golf round of 68. There's a hypnotizing baby picture of Kirk Sutlive. He's about twelve to fourteen months old, looking laser-intensive at the camera face with those dark, probing eyes. A chunky little fellow; a miniature lineman ready to move, or block. A mussed-up shock of thick hair flags his round fore-head. Ready for action. Your action. His action. Ready to go. Ready to be picked up and hugged. Ready to move on and get things done. The picture is prophetic and mesmerizing. The child is father of the man. The family will receive friends from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Sunday at Fox & Weeks Funeral Directors, Hodgson Chapel. Funeral Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 1802 Abercorn Street, with The Rev. James Parker officiating.. Interment, with full Military Honors, will be in Catholic Cemetery on Wheaton Street. The family suggests that remembrances may be made to St. George's Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 61297, Savannah, GA 31420-1297. Savannah Morning News March 26, 2006 Please sign our Obituary Guest Book at www.savannahnow.com