Gentlemen,

I am in shock. I am pissed. I am so broken hearted I have no clue how to begin to pick up the pieces. Most of y'all may not know who i speak of but the Old Guard here will. I have tried to remember to call everyone that he and I both knew and that I had phone numbers for. If I missed you and this is the first you are hearing of it, I deeply apologize. I know I would not want to learn about a friend dying online, but I know of no other way to reach out to as many people as he knew than posting here.

Steve Sutton died this morning.

It was a horrible accident. He was up under his new to him motorhome trying to fix something and the jacks failed. He was crushed. Debby, his wife, was with him and they were on their way home from Montana.

Steve was my best friend but he was also family. It was because of this website that I met him. He and John Hitchcock invited me on a hunt in 2005 and a beautiful, sometimes frustrating but always incredible friendship was forged. We hunted and fished together and had outstanding adventures. He was with me at some of the lowest points in my life, never judging, always supporting. He was there to celebrate some incredible accomplishments and kick me in the ass when I needed some sense knocked into me. He taught me a lot about fishing and hunting and introduced me to a world of hunting I hadn't ever dreamed of when I first started hunting. If a person could ever put in a request to choose their family, you could not have chosen better than Steve and Debby.

And now he is gone. Over a stupid, tragic accident.

So fellas, tell everyone you love just how much they mean to you. It has truly hit home how fast it can all be lost.

And tonight, raise a glass to a very fine gentleman.

There are so many stories to tell, he was such a character. I just don't have the words tonight so a few pictures will have to do....



















Here's to a great man....

Dani

So very sorry for your loss, he looks from his pictures to be a one-of-a-kind-type guy.






The bluebird can sing, but the crow's got the soul.

So very sad to hear...Thoughts and Prayers for the family...He will be missed!!!!!!!

Best Regards,
Kristan

Very very sad news. My thoughts and prayers go out to Steve's family and friends.

Terrible news just terrible. My thoughts and prayers to Steve's family and friends.

Dani,

Steve may be gone but the memories will be with you forever.

---

Take care, Huntindave McCann SHELL ROCK IA. ,,,,,, "As sailors grow older, the wiser ones move to smaller boats." Thomas Firth Jones, Multihull Voyaging

So sorry for your loss. The stories of your adventures with Steve have been wonderful windows into a very special friendship. Thank you for sharing.

Dani,

I am so sorry for your loss. You are so very fortunate to have had such a close relationship with Steve Sutton.

If ever there was a person that the phrase ?Larger than life? could be applied to, it was Steve. I had the distinct pleasure of hunting with him in the States, Ontario, and Manitoba. I never met a more knowledgeable Waterfowler. And stories? Oh my! What stories could be shared about this larger than life person! Perhaps, down the road, we could start a thread, sharing our favorite stories.

May God Bless you, Debby, and all of Steve?s family and friends, during this most difficult time.
Mark Rongers

Dani,
I am truly sorry to hear about Steve.
I am glad to have known him.
My thoughts and prayers to Debby, family, friends, and you. I know you had a special bond with him, count your blessings tonight to have known this man.
RIP Steve,
Mike Livingston

Oh no. I can?t even start to process this. Steve was on of my heroes. A quick wit a a huge personality. I am sooo sorry Dani. He was one of a kind. It was his rambling ways that gave me the itch to see more of our wonderful country. A man like him can not be replaced. Only remembered.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I never know which is worse: the sorrow when you hit the bird, or the shame when you miss.
http://www.hillmandecoys.com
Mullica Hill NJ

Holy crap!
My deepest condolences to you and all his friends and family...and I know he felt that you were both.

Jeez, I was just going to reply to a silly thing he said on Facebook last night. It was such a Steve thing, talking about fixing his Benelli with a tangerine sticker.

My God this has to be horrible for Debby.

Tim
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Ah Nuts!"

http://snipehunterfishart.blogspot.com/

Dani I?m at a loss. My condolences to you and Debby and everyone on here who considered Steve a friend. It?s a loss for sure. I had always hoped he would make it back to Jersey so I could meet him in person. RIP Mr. Sutton.
********
“A day in the blind is a delightful occasion. If there are ducks to be shot so much the better, but even a day in the open watching the bobbing decoys and the changing weather, with the good companionship of friends, is in itself a more than worth-while experience.”
--J. Kemp Bartlett Jr., “Chesapeake Bay,” Duck Shooting, 1947

Truly a terrible loss. Steve was legend in my book.

RIP my friend

Dang it that is horrible! I am so sorry to see the news Dani!

The time we have together way too short, savor each and every moment. God Bless Steve's family and prayers of comfort for all.

Dani

My thoughts are swimming right now and it will take some time to process this terrible news. Like so many have said Steve was "larger-than-life." He encompassed that expression more than any person I've ever known. We met because of this site over twenty years ago and he made me crack up so many times I can't even begin to recall all of it (I still steal some of his lines every duck season like "AND DON'T COME BACK!"). His good sense of humor was simply off the charts and he turned every occasion we got together into a rolling laugh fest. Yet when we really talked, and I mean really talked about life he was such an intelligent and introspective person. I always loved getting picture packages from him before the days of digital cameras. He would send me neat little packages with handwritten notes of duck hunting topics we shared in common. I still have many pictures of boats and decoys of his, but none that truly capture the mischievous yet kind-hearted person you have wonderfully shared with us. Steve and I met at a time in my life where I was defining the type of hunter I would be and he was a HUGE influence. We exchanged countless emails and phone calls and he helped articulate and cement so many of the values about waterfowling I hold today. I believe I speak for others on this as well. What a bright and influential person he was. I feel so blessed to have had him in my life and I will always think back to the good times and things I learned from him. Below is a picture from the fist time we met (Travis, Steve, myself, and Jeff Smith). They had to kick us out of Corky's that night because we were all having so much fun we didn't want to leave well after closing time. When you are around Steve you want it to keep going.

God bless Steve and his loved ones.

I?m so sorry to hear it Dani. I?m glad that you had such a long and close friendship with Steve.

Poor Debby, what a horrific experience for her.

I never has the privilege to meet Steve in person but I have tears in my eyes as I type this. What more can be said?

---

Carl
Mobile, AL
DHBP Member since 1998

"Life is too short to drink bad beer."
Disclaimer: This post and/or report is not a substantiation of or reflection on the true accuracy of the present surveying methods. It is only a report on or comment concerning local observation and/or results. Your results and observation may vary based on your location, local water conditions, food supply, weather conditions and migratory patterns "

Oh Dani, I am at loss for words.

Steve helped me when I got into carving.


He made patterns for my decoys and mailed them down to me.

This is a tragedy and my heart goes out to all the folks that loved Steve.


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Don't just do something, Stand there!

All on this page lost a good friend and fellow game bird fanatic. Steve always made a big impact. You always knew what he was thinking about things but he was never so proud to admit when he was wrong. He was generous with information, knowledgable and driven. It was truly a tragedy to lose him this way. He had bought the motor home so Debby would accompany him on his hunting trips. He had been in Montana since leaving Florida after the hurricane in early September. We shared a lot of stories and pictures in the last few months and he was having the time of his life. RIP Steve. My condolences to Debby, Dani, Belle his setter and all of his friends from Washington to Florida and California to Canada. Here are a few pictures from his time in Montana this year. I believe the photo credits go to Dani.

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No words, just fond memories of our hunt together and prayers of comfort and strength for his friends and family.

Dave Diefenderfer
Manassas, VA

"Once you set out to build a boat, throw away your square. And if you work on her after she's launched, throw away your level." author unknown

I hadn?t talked to him a while but always meant to catch up. Figured I would rendezvous again with Steve when I retired and we could chase birds like the old days. He touched a lot of lives and was quite possibly the nexus for more hunting friendships than any other human....ever. In this forums heyday he was the main attraction, truly larger than life. I could tell stories for days but my absolute favorite was the time he spent 23 hours at the US/Canadian border holding because when asked if he had anything to declare he told the agent ?yeah, my wife has a hot ass?!

Dani and all who remained close to Steve, I am truly sorry for your loss. He was a unique, interesting and passionate man who deserved more. Rest In Peace my friend, you will be greatly missed.

John

I'm so sorry Debby. I'm so sorry Dani. I'm so sorry for everybody that knew and loved Steve...his family and friends.

Wow. What can I say. Steve reached out to me a while back on Facebook and it was great to hear from him. I'm not going to lie, the two of us had some down time I guess you'd call it. I was with guys I met on this page 16 years ago when I walked up the big boat ramp in Rockland, Maine after an amazing hunt with Alvin Chase. My cell phone got wet and the salt fried it...Steve had the same phone and we both thought it was the best cell phone on the market (...imagine that). The other crew was at the ramp waiting for us and acting strange as I walked up. Steve handed me his phone and said, "You need to call Angie". I called her and she told me my dad had died of a massive heart attack that morning. I was in shock about it of course and the trip changed for everybody at that point.

I had spoken to my father the night before while the guys and I had dinner and lots of beer at a cool place downtown. I remember the fireplace was huge and I described it to my dad...he loved Maine. Steve had told me I'd really like that place and wished my father could have been there too after I'd told him stories about the old man. That evening we drove down the coast to Derry, New Hampshire and stayed at one of my dad's best friends place. I flew home the next morning when they dropped me off at the Manchester Airport. That was the last time I saw Steve Sutton.

I thought about him over the years many times and occasionally we'd communicate but that day in Maine, I was a lost soul and part of me never came back. Still hasn't. And something weird happened between Steve and I. Things were strained. It always bothered the hell out of me to be honest. But, I knew in the long run we'd cross paths again so when he reached out to me recently I was happy...relieved even. I already had it in my mind that we'd go on some adventure in the near future. That isn't going to happen but I do know that all of us should be reminded when silly shit forms a wall of silence between people the time to fix it is now. I can only imagine the good times we'd have had...things I would have learned. The laughs we'd have shared.

Sorry for writing a book...my first post in many years. Steve was definitely larger than life. Rest In Peace Steve...
http://www.anglinoutdoors.com

I read this a few hours ago and couldn't think of what to say and still having a hard time believing it. The world is a lesser place without him.

I am so sorry Dani. Smile with ever memory... You will know when the time is right, and you are able.

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***Phil (Chesapeake Boy) Nowack***


Nothing like the north wind pushing snow at your back, a bird in your hand, and chessie with ice on his coat at your side.

Birds brought to you courtesy of Nikon, Benelli, Kodi, and Otter

Got a call from Hank Garvey a couple of hours ago that I wish that I hadn't. He told me about Steve, ??.like a kick in the gut. Steve and I were some of the first members of this website and it led to a friendship that few have. Debbie, you have my prayers tonight.
One of my very best friends and one of the funniest guys ever. We hunted literally from Maine to Washington and I hoped to join him and Dani in Florida this year. I can't write any more.Rest easy Steve, Bill Wasson

Dani, I still can?t process this really happened, I so much appreciated the call,
Rose and I are so sad for everyone in Steve?s family especially Debbie, we had some great hunts together over the years and I?ll cherish the time I got to spend with a guy who was truly larger than life..

Fred