Thomas Sutherland lived a very full life as a professor, husband and father, one-time actor and generous arts patron. But most people will remember him as one of the U.S. citizens held hostage by Lebanese terrorists in the late 1980s and early ’90s.
Sutherland, whose health was in decline, died peacefully Friday night at his home in Fort Collins, said Jean Sutherland, who celebrated 60 years of marriage June 23. He was 85.
“I think Tom felt he was ready to go. It was his time. And he was able to go from home. That was especially important to him. He just felt that he had really lived a great life,” she said. “He’s just a great guy. I still think of him in the present.”
Sutherland, born in Scotland, made his way to Colorado after marrying. He taught animal science at Colorado State University for 26 years before taking the job as dean of agriculture at the American University in Beirut. Jean Sutherland taught English at the same school.
Even though the couple knew of the dangers, they opted to stay. Sutherland was kidnapped June 9, 1985, by Shiite Hezbollah terrorists taking a stand against U.S. military forces involved in the Lebanese civil war, according to a Denver Post story. It would be six years before Sutherland was released on Nov. 18, 1991.
After returning to Fort Collins, CSU made him a professor emeritus. CSU president Tony Frank remembers Sutherland’s return well.
“One of the greatest moments in the history of Colorado State University was the afternoon in 1991 when we welcomed our friend and colleague Tom Sutherland home from his long captivity in Beirut. His spirit and optimism inspired the world, and the deep devotion of his family during the bleak years he was a hostage taught us a profound lesson of courage, faith and hope,” Frank said in a statement.
The school later honored the Sutherlands with a CSU Founders Day Medal in 2014.
“Thomas Sutherland was an awe-inspiring example of courage, strength and integrity, and he will be deeply missed as a community beacon, a local celebrity, and a personal friend to many. We are greatly saddened by his passing, yet remain extraordinarily lucky to have shared in his incredible journey. Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this sad time,” CSU provost and executive vice president Rick Miranda said in a statement.
Another American held hostage in Lebanon then was Terry Anderson, chief Middle East correspondent for The Associated Press.
“I spent six years out of the seven years I was in captivity with Tommy,” Anderson told The AP on Saturday. “We were kept in the same cells and sometimes on the same chain. Whenever they moved us, generally Tommy would show up with me. He was a kind and gentle man.”
Sutherland taught him French when they were hostages, Anderson said. “He spoke beautiful French. We practiced irregular verbs,” he said.
Anderson said Sutherland “was a guy who remembered everyone he ever met. He never forgot anyone. I don’t know how he did it. He was such a people person that he remembered everybody. When we were in prison, we would sit and talk about things we had done and places he had gone. He always talked about the people he met there, and he remembered them. He was a very, very good man.”
As part of a lawsuit against the government of Iran for directing the kidnapping, Sutherland was eventually paid $35 million from frozen Iranian assets seized by the U.S. government.
He opted to stay in Fort Collins and support the arts. He donated a fortune to local organizations, including underwriting the $1.1 million purchase of the historic Giddings Building in Fort Collins, according to John Moore, a former Denver Post writer who chronicled some of Sutherland’s generosity with area arts groups.
In 2003, at age 72, Sutherland stumbled into acting, thanks to the encouragement of Wendy Ishii, founder of the Bas Bleu Theatre Company. Ishii cast novices Sutherland and former Denver Broncos Denver player Earlie Thomas in “A Lesson from Aloes.”
“It may not have been best ‘Lesson from Aloes,’ but it will be the one I remember,” said Ishii, whose company benefited from a $500,000 donation from the Sutherlands. “What always astounded me about Tom is how he came through what he came through. He was not bitter. He just exemplified the values I always hope to portray on the stage: courage, resilience and unsurpassed generosity of spirit.”
Moore, who now writes for the Denver Center for Performing Arts, stayed in touch with Sutherland. He said Sutherland didn’t make a show of it but donated generously to the local arts.
“I think it had something to do with being a hostage. Being released gave him a longer lease on life,” Moore said. “I would have loved to sit in a lecture and hear him talk about agriculture. He was poetic. I would equate him with a Scottish Shakespeare. Everything he said was lyrical. It rolled off his tongue. You couldn’t help but enjoy every story.”
Sutherland, Moore added, would joke that his captivity was a “paid vacation from the Shah of Iran.”
For years after his release, Sutherland didn’t seem to mind talking about his life bound and blindfolded as a hostage. He and his wife co-authored a book about the experience, “At Your Own Risk.”
“He remembered all the details and all the experiences,” said Jean Sutherland. “But he put a cap on it and said, ‘I don’t want to ruin the rest of my life by being bitter about it or not talking about it.’ ”
Sutherland is survived by Jean; three daughters, Kit Sutherland of Fort Collins, Joan Sutherland Sears of Portland, Ore., and Ann Sutherland of Virginia; and several grandchildren.
Family and friends are planning a public celebration of Sutherland’s life for sometime in mid-August. Details are pending.
