Celebration of Life: Nik Scott Sutton, December 29, 1957 – November 18, 2024

Provided.

Nik Scott Sutton.

On Monday, Nov. 18 Nik Scott Sutton passed away in Tehachap at the age of 66 after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. He is survived by his wife, Linda; his sons and daughters-in-law, Derek and Julie, Skylar and Danielle; his sister, brother-in-law, and brother, Nardi, Mark, and Steve; his parents, Jerry and Joan; and his grandchildren, Tyler, Shane, Connor, Drew and Gage.

Nik was born on Dec. 29, 1957 in Gilroy, California. He spent his youth exploring the outdoors, fishing, building and racing classic American muscle cars and later joined the National Guard as a gunner in a tank crew. He moved to Southern California as a young man, meeting his future wife Linda while cruising down Whittier Blvd. with friends in his blue '71 Plymouth Duster. Nik and Linda married on Oct. 27, 1979. They had two boys, Derek and Skylar, in 1982 and 1984.

Nik raised his family in Buena Park, California and later Titusville, Florida, Palmdale and Tehachapi, California. He enjoyed sailing his catamaran, fishing, taking his sons surfing and building hot rods with his sons and son's friends in the Sutton family garage. During the boys' teenage years, he helped build multiple projects: a retro-mod '66 Nova SS, a supercharged small-block '71 Camaro, an original LS6 '69 El Camino SS, a stock '56 Chevy 210 Post and a 1988 Winnebago, which was used for countless weekend trips to Kern River and Lake Isabella.

In 1980, he started his career working on the space shuttle program and progressed over time to a Quality Management Systems Lead Auditor. He later branched out with his own quality consulting company, Quality Concepts. His consulting work expanded and he traveled around the world on business to Turkey, Australia, Japan and China. He retired in 2022 after 42 years in the aerospace industry.

Nik was an amazing husband, father, brother, grandpa and friend. He was quick to joke and tease and always made instant friends wherever he went. He loved his family and friends and being a dad, at which he excelled. He will be honored with a private memorial service attended by those who loved him. He will be greatly missed.