Kathy Dorene (Wells) Sutherland (June, 13 1946 - December 23, 2024), a longtime Humboldt County resident, passed away at the age of 78 at her daughter’s home in Hanford, California on December 23, 2024.

She was born on June 13, 1946, to parents Ike and Nancy Wells in Tillamook, Oregon. When she was three years old, the family moved to Whitethorn, where she attended several years of elementary school until her dad moved them to Mayfield, Idaho to try his hand at cattle ranching. Idaho is where she found her love of horses, which she never outgrew. She loved everything about helping her dad on the ranch. She often spoke of it as being some of her best childhood memories.

When she was 14, the family moved to Redway for her dad to return to the logging industry. Not long after her return to Humboldt County, she met the love of her life, William Sutherland, and on January 30, 1963 she was married at the young age of 16. At age 17 she became a mom for the first time with the birth of her only son, Tommis Sutherland, then just one year later her daughter Valerie Sutherland was born. In the early years of her marriage and motherhood she did her part to help her family financially. She took in other people’s laundry to wash and iron, she cleaned motel rooms for a few years, then worked at the Miranda Market as a meat cutter.

In 1978 she gave birth to her last daughter, Jenny Sutherland, and shortly after that she began her school bus driving career. She was an exceptional driver, receiving School Bus Driver of the Year one year and countless Safe Driving Awards. She is remembered fondly by many students that considered her as the best bus driver ever. She retired after 32 years with a zero accident clean record.

She was always a very active, hard-working person. Over the years she built fences, rebuilt barns, remodeled her kitchen, fixed the water pump, kept the yard up, grew vegetable gardens, canned tons of food, always had animals to care for and she loved to sew and crotchet. She was a strong, beautiful, kind person. After retirement one could often find her playing slots at the Bear River Casino until her life-crippling disease, rheumatoid arthritis, made it impossible for her to do much but crotchet, and crotchet she did, up until five days before her passing. She made countless baby blankets that she happily shared with neighbors and family members.

Kathy is survived by her husband of 61 years, 11 months William Sutherland; her children Tommis (Alita) Sutherland, Valerie (Dan) Welzbacker, Jenny Sutherland (Jason); her brother Bill (Judy) Wells; her sister Ellen Vaughn; brothers-in-law Daniel (Marlene), George (Teresa), Johnny (Lorna) Sutherland; sisters-in-law Dora Minikal, Mary Bigger; grandchildren Kyle, Travis Harrison, Larissa (Nick) Arbuthnot, Donavan Pogue, Amy (Justin), Molly (Frank), Jimmy Sutherland (Kayla); great-grandchildren Makala, Austin, Aubree Harrison, Lila, Camden Arbuthnot, Quinn Bramlett; step-grandchild Emily Welzbacker; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, friends and other family members.

Kathy was preceded in death by her parents, Ike and Nancy Wells; in-laws Daniel and Wilhemina Sutherland; brother Dale Wells; sister Laura Methin; sisters-in-law Peal Coffer, Dorothy Sutherland; brother-in-laws Clearance Sutherland, James Sutherland, Thomas Bigger, Robert Vaughn, Ken Methuin; as well as several nieces, nephews, friends and other family members.

A memorial will be held for Kathy at the Briceland Cemetery on May 10, 2025 at 2 p.m., with a get-together of food and refreshments after, at Beginnings in Briceland.