March 5, 1926 – May 30, 2022 Beverly Sutton died naturally and peacefully on May 30, 2022 at her home in the Los Feliz Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles at the age of 96. She lived a long and purposeful life, on her own terms .
Beverly Bryna Fields was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan and raised in Dearborn, on a street next to Henry Ford’s farm, graduating from Central High School in 1944. Her mother Sally Fields was a Detroit newspaper columnist and PR woman; her father Samuel Sternfield was a band leader. After attending Wayne State University, and briefly working as a floor model at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City, she, like thousands of other Midwesterners, moved to Los Angeles after World War II in search of a warmer climate and more open environment. Beverly was always a worker: modeling at the original May Company store on Wilshire, working for years at Water & Power on Broadway, and then working in the office at Thomas Starr King Middle School, where both of her children attended, for over 30 years . She married golfer, journalist and real estate investor Fred Sutton in 1955 (he died in 2000), and raised two children, Leigh and Jimmy, in the same house where she lived until her death.
Unfortunately, the defining moment of her life was a tragedy: the death of her daughter Leigh by a drunk driver when Leigh was in high school. Leigh was a phenomenal youth athlete, long before Title IX, and to keep her memory alive, Beverly and Fred set up a scholarship fund at John Marshall High School, awarding a small college scholarship to the top graduating girl athlete for the last 45 years. When the high school inducted Beverly into its Hall of Fame a few years ago, LA Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke did a wonderful piece on Beverly’s tribute to Leigh’s memory. https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-marshall-high-plaschke-20170422-story.html.
Beverly found her true calling when she picked up quilting. Making quiet and subtle beauty out of intricate order is the art of quilting and, perhaps, a reflection of Beverly’s life. She was a long-time member and treasurer of the Los Angeles Quiltmakers Guild, and received a commendation from the LA County Board of Supervisors for teaching quilting classes on Skid Row.
Beverly is survived by her son Jim and daughter-in-law Victoria (whom she referred to as the “perfect daughter-in-law”), and three college-aged grandchildren, James, Frances and George (whom she also thought are perfect ).
private funeral; memorial service to be held in near future. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Leigh Frances Sutton Memorial Scholarship Fund. Donate on-line at https://www.leighsuttonscholarship.com or make checks payable to “JMHS Alumni Association,” note that it’s for the “Leigh Sutton Scholarship Fund,” and send to JMHS Alumni Association, PO Box 39847, Los Angeles , CA90039.
Published by Los Angeles Times on Jun. 1, 2022.
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