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The Sutton Home
On Jan. 28, 1965, two Tulsa power couples were together for a dinner-and-basketball double date.
Then-Central High School basketball coach Eddie Sutton and his wife Patsy were joined by then-Tulsa World sports columnist Bill Connors and his wife Nita. They traveled to Stillwater, where they would watch the Henry Iba-coached Oklahoma State basketball team defeat Colorado 59-55.
Scott Sutton, the youngest of Eddie and Patsy’s three sons, would be born five years later — in 1970, in Omaha, Nebraska, where Eddie Sutton by that time was the head coach at Creighton.
In a terrible and eerie coincidence, Scott and his wife, Kim, now know how Eddie and Patsy must have felt 60 years ago.
One small fire exploded into a chain of cruel wildfires. The preliminary estimate from City of Stillwater officials states 74 homes and structures were destroyed.
Among those homes was a beautiful Kenslow Farms subdivision house owned and occupied by Oklahoma State basketball assistant Scott and Kim Sutton.
The southwestern section of Stillwater was in the eye of the firestorm.
“I’m guessing there are 30 homes in that neighborhood,” Scott Sutton told the Tulsa World, “and ours was the only one that was destroyed.
“Pretty much everything is gone.”
Barry Hinson, OSU’s NIL administrator, reports that there also was the destruction of homes owned by Cowboy strength coach Rob Glass, assistant strength-and-conditioning coach Gary Calcagno and former OSU wrestling great Lee Roy Smith (now the National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s executive director).
Scott Sutton was an Eddie Sutton-coached Cowboy guard in 1992-94. When Hinson became Oral Roberts University’s head basketball coach in 1997, his first official act was the hiring of Scott Sutton as an assistant.
“Easiest decision I ever made,” Hinson says.
Two years later, after Hinson departed for Missouri State, Sutton became the ORU head man at the age of 28. In spite of 14 winning seasons and three NCAA Tournament appearances, he was fired in 2017.
Today, Sutton is a special assistant to the head coach in the OSU basketball program.
While still in a state of shock and while beginning the process of submitting a claim to his insurance partner, 54-year-old Scott Sutton appreciates this slice of normalcy: the preparation for a game.
At 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Cowboys host Wichita State for an NIT first-round contest.
Sutton and Hinson are Kenslow Farms neighbors. When the Stillwater fire threat became serious, Hinson’s first notification was delivered by his wife Angie: “I think you need to come home.”
As an evacuation order was enforced, Angie collected clothes, essential personal items and the Hinsons’ dogs, and she and Barry were forced to find a safe place. Before leaving, however, Barry Hinson grabbed a garden hose and sprayed water onto his house and lawn.
Hinson did a fast tour of the subdivision, shooting video that he would share with many of his neighbors. Every house was OK, Hinson remembers, “and then I saw Scott’s house.”
“I just lost it,” Hinson remembers. “I couldn’t talk. I was crying like a baby.”
The Stillwater community, Hinson added, “has been through so much over the last few years.”
Presumably, he was alluding to the 2001 OSU basketball plane crash, the 2011 OSU women’s basketball plane crash, the 2015 homecoming-parade tragedy and, now, the 2025 Stillwater fire.
Scott Sutton says he and his wife have been “overwhelmed” by the reaction to their setback.
“So many friends reached out to help,” he said. “What these people did for us is incredible.”
It really is.
When it was apparent that the Suttons were dealt a total loss, Kim Sutton was devastated that her wedding ring and Scott’s wedding ring were in the house. Kim’s ring is a cluster of three separate bands.
About 40 of the Suttons’ friends and neighbors, along with some OSU athletes, sifted through the ash — using their hands and grain shovels in what initially felt like a futile search for Kim’s ring.
“All of a sudden,” Hinson recounted, “someone started screaming. They had found the first band. I’ve been a part of great victories and great moments. That moment was as great as anything I’ve ever experienced.
“In all of that ash and rock and burned wood, there was a wedding band. We were like, ‘Holy (bleep)! We’re in the right area!’ Thirty minutes later, the second band was found. People were going nuts.”
The recovery of two bands inspired the volunteers to continue their quest for the third. A metal detector was deployed. It pinged.
Christi Barr, the wife of former OSU football administrator Johnny Barr, plunged her hands into a pile of ash and emerged with the third band.
Kim Sutton’s wedding ring was intact.
Beyond that miracle was this one: Hinson himself found Scott Sutton’s wedding ring.
“This experience shows Kim and me how special this community really is,” Sutton said. “All of those people out there, digging through rubble, and they found both (wedding rings). And they found my 1995 Final Four ring.
“I didn’t play on that (OSU) team, but I did some radio with Tom Dirato and Bill Teegins that season. My dad thought I deserved a Final Four ring. It was pretty cool that (the fire volunteers) found it.”
When Sutton talked with the Tulsa World late Sunday night, he sounded intensely sleep-deprived but also uplifted by so many gestures of kindness.
“I’m sorry that I’m getting emotional,” he said, “but, man, this is Oklahoma and this is Stillwater. So many great people. We feel blessed.”
Bill Haisten: Scott and Kim Sutton – ‘blessed’ victims of the Stillwater fire
- Mar 18, 2025 Updated 8 hrs ago
The Sutton Home
On Jan. 28, 1965, two Tulsa power couples were together for a dinner-and-basketball double date.
Then-Central High School basketball coach Eddie Sutton and his wife Patsy were joined by then-Tulsa World sports columnist Bill Connors and his wife Nita. They traveled to Stillwater, where they would watch the Henry Iba-coached Oklahoma State basketball team defeat Colorado 59-55.
Scott Sutton, the youngest of Eddie and Patsy’s three sons, would be born five years later — in 1970, in Omaha, Nebraska, where Eddie Sutton by that time was the head coach at Creighton.
In a terrible and eerie coincidence, Scott and his wife, Kim, now know how Eddie and Patsy must have felt 60 years ago.
‘Everything is gone’
Over a period of six hours during a tragically unforgettable Friday in Stillwater, a violent west wind was sustained at or near 40 mph. On four occasions between 12:45 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., wind gusts were measured at 70 mph.One small fire exploded into a chain of cruel wildfires. The preliminary estimate from City of Stillwater officials states 74 homes and structures were destroyed.
Among those homes was a beautiful Kenslow Farms subdivision house owned and occupied by Oklahoma State basketball assistant Scott and Kim Sutton.
The southwestern section of Stillwater was in the eye of the firestorm.
“I’m guessing there are 30 homes in that neighborhood,” Scott Sutton told the Tulsa World, “and ours was the only one that was destroyed.
“Pretty much everything is gone.”
Barry Hinson, OSU’s NIL administrator, reports that there also was the destruction of homes owned by Cowboy strength coach Rob Glass, assistant strength-and-conditioning coach Gary Calcagno and former OSU wrestling great Lee Roy Smith (now the National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s executive director).
Scott Sutton was an Eddie Sutton-coached Cowboy guard in 1992-94. When Hinson became Oral Roberts University’s head basketball coach in 1997, his first official act was the hiring of Scott Sutton as an assistant.
“Easiest decision I ever made,” Hinson says.
Two years later, after Hinson departed for Missouri State, Sutton became the ORU head man at the age of 28. In spite of 14 winning seasons and three NCAA Tournament appearances, he was fired in 2017.
Today, Sutton is a special assistant to the head coach in the OSU basketball program.
While still in a state of shock and while beginning the process of submitting a claim to his insurance partner, 54-year-old Scott Sutton appreciates this slice of normalcy: the preparation for a game.
At 8 p.m. Tuesday, the Cowboys host Wichita State for an NIT first-round contest.
Sutton and Hinson are Kenslow Farms neighbors. When the Stillwater fire threat became serious, Hinson’s first notification was delivered by his wife Angie: “I think you need to come home.”
As an evacuation order was enforced, Angie collected clothes, essential personal items and the Hinsons’ dogs, and she and Barry were forced to find a safe place. Before leaving, however, Barry Hinson grabbed a garden hose and sprayed water onto his house and lawn.
Hinson did a fast tour of the subdivision, shooting video that he would share with many of his neighbors. Every house was OK, Hinson remembers, “and then I saw Scott’s house.”
“I just lost it,” Hinson remembers. “I couldn’t talk. I was crying like a baby.”
The Stillwater community, Hinson added, “has been through so much over the last few years.”
Presumably, he was alluding to the 2001 OSU basketball plane crash, the 2011 OSU women’s basketball plane crash, the 2015 homecoming-parade tragedy and, now, the 2025 Stillwater fire.
Finding Kim’s ring
One of the Suttons’ three daughters is engaged to a young man whose parents own a vacant house in Stillwater. Scott and Kim plan to rebuild on their burned home’s footprint. Until then, they will reside in their soon-to-be in-laws’ place.Scott Sutton says he and his wife have been “overwhelmed” by the reaction to their setback.
“So many friends reached out to help,” he said. “What these people did for us is incredible.”
It really is.
When it was apparent that the Suttons were dealt a total loss, Kim Sutton was devastated that her wedding ring and Scott’s wedding ring were in the house. Kim’s ring is a cluster of three separate bands.
About 40 of the Suttons’ friends and neighbors, along with some OSU athletes, sifted through the ash — using their hands and grain shovels in what initially felt like a futile search for Kim’s ring.
“All of a sudden,” Hinson recounted, “someone started screaming. They had found the first band. I’ve been a part of great victories and great moments. That moment was as great as anything I’ve ever experienced.
“In all of that ash and rock and burned wood, there was a wedding band. We were like, ‘Holy (bleep)! We’re in the right area!’ Thirty minutes later, the second band was found. People were going nuts.”
The recovery of two bands inspired the volunteers to continue their quest for the third. A metal detector was deployed. It pinged.
Christi Barr, the wife of former OSU football administrator Johnny Barr, plunged her hands into a pile of ash and emerged with the third band.
Kim Sutton’s wedding ring was intact.
Beyond that miracle was this one: Hinson himself found Scott Sutton’s wedding ring.
“This experience shows Kim and me how special this community really is,” Sutton said. “All of those people out there, digging through rubble, and they found both (wedding rings). And they found my 1995 Final Four ring.
“I didn’t play on that (OSU) team, but I did some radio with Tom Dirato and Bill Teegins that season. My dad thought I deserved a Final Four ring. It was pretty cool that (the fire volunteers) found it.”
When Sutton talked with the Tulsa World late Sunday night, he sounded intensely sleep-deprived but also uplifted by so many gestures of kindness.
“I’m sorry that I’m getting emotional,” he said, “but, man, this is Oklahoma and this is Stillwater. So many great people. We feel blessed.”
