Donald Ray Sutton, of Bethany, Oklahoma, peacefully passed into the loving arms of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on June 6, 2025, surrounded by his family. He was born on February 12, 1934, in Snomac, OK, the son of Trentie Alice Leonard and Lewis Henry Sutton.

When he was 12 years old, he accepted Jesus as his Savior at the church in Aviation Acres in rural Midwest City, OK. His favorite Scripture was Psalm150. "Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."

He held close to his faith the rest of his life, serving in several churches around town as a choir leader, youth choir sponsor, vocalist and musician. In his later years, he played in the orchestra at Council Road Baptist Church in Bethany, where he was a member the past 47 years. He loved to take on new musical challenges such as learning wind instrument synthesizers to cover missing parts.

Don attended Midwest City High School and graduated in 1951. He was a member of the Honor Society and received the award for Outstanding Senior Boy for academic achievement. He excelled in band, Spanish and typewriting, and he was awarded a four-year flute scholarship to Oklahoma City University to play flute in the OCU Orchestra while obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, which he completed in 1957.

His skills in typewriting led to his first job as a typist at an insurance company that later led to a job at the Oklahoma Publishing Company as a typesetter. After his service in the United States Air Force, he worked in Helena, MT, putting news on the wire for the Associated Press. He finished his career in the Oklahoma City branch of IBM, where he worked in administrative support for over 35 years.

Don met his wife, Dorothy La Nell Bartlett, while singing in the choir at Western Hills Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. They were married on August 30, 1963, and enjoyed 61 years of marriage.

In addition to music, his other passion was gardening, where he excelled in growing camellias that are normally found in much warmer climates. He was friends with expert gardeners from around the country, with whom he worked on hybridizing cultivars. He was featured on a couple of local television stations that highlighted his hard-to-grow, beautiful camellias. He and his daughter-in-law, Sarah, had a great time sharing this hobby, and he taught her everything she knows!

He is preceded in death by his parents, Trentie and Lewis Sutton and siblings Doyle Sutton, Paul Sutton, Nina Gordon, Myrtle Ray and Dorothy Lesser.

He is survived by his wife, Dorothy, and their son, David, and his wife, Sarah, of Oklahoma City, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Services to celebrate his life will take place on June 19, 2025, at 11 a.m., in the Chapel at Council Road Baptist Church, 2900 N. Council Road, with Reverend Norman Behymer officiating.

Graveside service will be at 9 a.m. that same morning at Vondel L. Smith and Sons at South Lakes in Oklahoma City, 4000 SW 119 Street. Everyone is welcome.

The viewing will take place on June 18 from 4-8 p.m., with family present from 4-6 p.m. at the same location.

Services will be live-streamed on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/davidlsutton.

If you would like to make a donation in lieu of sending flowers, please send it to Council Road Baptist Church and write "Worship Arts Ministry" in the memo line.