William George “Bill” Sutcliffe

William George “Bill” Sutcliffe, former LLNL physicist, died Jan. 10. He was 83.

Sutcliffe was a University of Michigan alumni and former U.S. Navy officer. He and wife Sally had lived in Livermore since 1968, when he began a career as a nuclear physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. In the Navy, he served on an aircraft carrier and the first guided missile cruiser and was part of the blockade during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During the Cold War and after, he worked closely with international colleagues to support nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation.

He was an avid pilot and flight instructor. Shortly after moving to the Tri-valley, he followed an antique biplane across town to a small airfield amidst the grapevines. He devoted weekends to maintaining and flying the 1918 Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” that is now on display at Hill Aerospace Museum. He spent much of his free time flying over the Livermore hills in an ultralight, biplane or 1958 Cessna 172. A longtime member of the Flying Particles, he taught many aspiring aviators to share his love of flying as he taught them to be prepared, thoughtful and thorough pilots.

He is survived by his wife Sally; children Laura, Cathy, Bill, and Michael and their spouses; grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and a sister and her family. All are deeply grateful for the support of Hospice of the East Bay and would appreciate donations in his name.