Obituary of Edward Michael Sutyak

Edward Michael Sutyak passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home on May 13, 2016, 4 months after the passing of his beloved wife of 51 years, Joan Lyga Sutyak. “Eddie” was born on October 4, 1928, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, one of Andrew and Elizabeth Sutyak’s seven children. In the 1950’s Eddie moved to the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California, and began working as an aerospace engineer for Hughes Aircraft in Culver City, California. During his career in the aerospace industry, he was part of a team that worked on the Syncom satellite, which was developed in response to the U.S.S.R’s launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik. During his 40-plus years in the industry, Eddie also worked on many projects associated with the International Space Station. In 1952, Eddie was one of the founders of St. Innocent Orthodox Church in Tarzana, California. It was the vision of these founding parishioners to build a church where Orthodox Christians could worship and celebrate the Liturgy in English. During his lifetime, Eddie served as warden, as well as choir director, for many, many years. He loved his church and maintained his faith throughout his lifetime. He met his wife, “Joannie” at church and they married on July 5, 1964. They raised their four children in their Canoga Park home. Joannie passed away on January 17, 2016 after a heroic battle with renal disease for a number of years. Eddie loved to play the piano, go to Dodger games, attend sporting and school events with his children, and after retirement, there wasn’t a crossword puzzle he couldn’t finish. Eddie was a quiet and reflective man, but he made it clear that his faith and his family were the two things he was most proud of, and he shared that sentiment often. He enriched our lives and set the standard for following a Christ-centered life. Eddie will be dearly missed by many. He is survived by his daughters, Anne Wells of Hollister, California, Tamara Sutyak of S. Pasadena, California, and Christina Sutyak of Turlock, California; his son, Michael Sutyak of Canoga Park, California; his grandsons Tyler Wells of Bellevue, Washington, Alexander Wells of Hollister, California, and Nicholas Wells of Hollister, California; sisters Anna Kovalsky of Bridgeport, Connecticut and Barbara Sutyak of Trumbull, Connecticut. A memorial service will be held at St. Innocent Orthodox Church in Tarzana at 7:00 pm Friday, May 27, followed by funeral service at 10:00 am Saturday, May 28.