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Lylia L. Sutherland, 81

LYLIA L. SUTHERLAND, 81 of Cozad, passed away Saturday, August 13, 2016 at the Cozad Community Hospital.

Lylia was born April 6, 1935 at Blair, Nebraska to Victor and Ada (Stricklett) King. She graduated in 1953 from Blair High School.

On March 20, 1953, Lylia married John "Burly" Sutherland in Iowa. The couple made their home in Blair for the next 20 years. At that time, Lylia worked at a greenhouse and flower shop. Their union would eventually blossom into a family, complete with 4 boys and 2 girls. In 1972, they moved to Grant, and later, Curtis and Max. In 2008, a year after the death of her husband, Lylia moved to Cozad to be closer to her family.

Lylia was a long-time member of the Blair Christian Church, the Red Hat Society and J.C. Woman's Club. She loved greenery and tending to her flowers. Lylia was also known to have amassed an impressive collection of bears. From stuffed to ceramic, and everything in between, if it involved a bear, Lylia would add it to her collection. She was also a devoted fan of the Denver Broncos.

While Lylia enjoyed her hobbies greatly, the focal point of her life was her family. It was a blessing for her to see her grandchildren grow up, and exponentially so, to see their lineage grow with the births of her great grandchildren and even 3 great-great grandchildren.

In addition to her husband, Lylia was preceded in death by a son, Joe in 1974.

She is lovingly survived by her 3 sons, Tim (Gretchen) Sutherland of Lincoln, Bill (Lisa) Sutherland of Blair, Mark (Kim) Sutherland of Cozad; 2 daughters, Robin (Wayne) Larsen of Cozad, Roxann (Pat) Edwards of Blair; 20 grandchildren; 29 great grandchildren and 3 great-great grandchildren; a sister, Rita Ray of Omaha; step-sister, Karen (Jim) Bowman of Max; and several other relatives and friends.

A memorial has been established in her memory for later designation. Condolences may be shared atbullocklongfuneralhome.com, where the service will be streamed live for those unable to attend.

Services will be on Saturday, August 20, 2016 at 10am at the Grant United Methodist Church with Pastor Elmer Armijo officiating. Burial will be in the Grant Fairview Cemetery.

Visitation will be on Friday, from 3pm until 7pm at the Bullock-Long Funeral Home in Grant.

Bullock-Long Funeral Home of Grant is in charge of arrangements.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~