Obituary: Alice Ann Sutherland

Born August 18, 1960, in Virginia Beach, 56-year-old Alice Ann Sutherland passed away at 9:13 a.m. this morning at her home on Davis Street in St Augustine; where she has lived since 1999.

Historic City News editor in chief, Michael Gold, was informed by her mother, Ann S Proctor, and sister, Susan S Williams, who were with her at the time of her death, that in lieu of a funeral service, a celebration of Alice’s life will follow at a date and location to be announced.

Close family friend, Kirsten Miller-Starling, confirmed the news and has been receiving condolences all day on her facebook from friends, business associates and Clan Sutherland members around the country.

Alice worked with Travel Related Services division of America Express in Jacksonville, where she learned that travel and tourism were in her blood. She assisted in marketing at Northeast Florida Regional Airport and was one of the leading supporters working to bring a commercial airline carrier to town.

She founded the original “City Walks” — a walking tour utilizing licensed, and entertaining guides. The idea quickly grew in popularity, so she added the food tour and pub crawl tours. When she retired, Sutherland sold her tour businesses to Tour St Augustine. They continue to thrive.

Alice Sutherland was an advocate for good business and good government. If you won her friendship, you had a formidable ally. If she ever learned that you betrayed her trust, or her adopted home town of St Augustine, you had a daunting adversary.

Alice was one of the city’s early Internet personalities and a frequent commenter on Talk of the Town, Plazabum, and other community forums under the nickname, “Dunrobin”. Her intuition was uncanny. Her ability to ferret out the back story on local news and expose the truth was the foundation of a seventeen-year association with Historic City News.

“Alice was an amazingly insightful citizen journalist,” Michael Gold wrote today in a message to her family. “It’s impossible for me to look anywhere around our business and our publication without seeing her influence.”

Alice had a smile all her own and an impish grin that always made me wonder what she was up to. Her sense of humor made me want to laugh; but, there is no laughter today. Maybe we can get back to that tomorrow, but the laughs won’t come today.