John David Cutrell

In Loving Memory of John David Cutrell
April 27, 1937 - September 27, 2025
88 years of laughter, love, and excellent tacos

John David Cutrell-beloved husband, father, grandfather, pun enthusiast, baker of legendary pizza, and a man who could engineer a highway and a mean chile relleno-passed away peacefully on September 27, 2025, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, at the age of 88.

Born in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, on April 27, 1937, John was the youngest of eight children in the bustling household of George Washington Cutrell and Frances Nissley Cutrell. Growing up early on in Pennsylvania, and then in Colorado, surrounded by siblings-Orie, Dick, Ben, Helen, Janet, Sam, and Ruthie-John quickly learned the power of a well-timed joke, a helping hand, and how to charm his siblings' significant others into helping him have a good time.

A proud graduate of the University of Colorado, John earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1963, where he was inducted into Chi Epsilon, the Civil Engineering Honorary Society. Because of John's high achievements, he was selected by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads to join a program designed to train a cadre of top-notch highway engineers to oversee the construction of our nation's first Interstate Highway system. While the discipline he trained in was engineering, he was also immediately and irrevocably attracted to all things computer, a love that led him down many paths in his future career. He worked most of his working years for government-run transportation departments, most notably the Federal Highway Administration, ending his career there as the Director of International Programs.

He married the love of his life, Brenda Rosa Kirby de Cutrell, whom he met in Argentina and with whom he built a beautiful family and shared a lifetime of love, laughter, travels, and the occasional misadventure. Together, they raised five children: Gregg (wife, Amy), Karen (husband, Mel), Anne (husband, Glen), Max, and Aileen (husband, Brian), and proudly watched their family grow to include four grandchildren: Katie, CJ, Alex, and Ian. To each of them, he was the proudest Grandpa and Pop around.

John never met a piece of wordplay he didn't love. He was the kind of man who delighted in groan-worthy puns and delighted even more in your groans. Beyond the jokes and puns, John was a kind person who valued others deeply and made sure each person he encountered felt valued. He was a deeply spiritual man who spent much of his later years exploring and supporting spiritual growth organizations. He saw the world not just with the eyes of an engineer, but with the heart of a seeker. He was the kind of man who put his finger on a map and said, "I wonder what it's like there? Let's go and find out!" His curiosity led him to travel widely and connect deeply with people and with ideas. Travel also allowed him to cultivate his great love for photography; he loved photographing nature, landscapes, culture, and any interesting cloud formation that ran across his view.

If he wasn't traveling or working in his garden, his family generally found him happiest in his kitchen. Making homemade pizza, banana bread, French baguettes, scones, and cookies - food was his love language. 

John's ashes will be laid to rest among generations of family at the First Mennonite Church in Denver, a fitting homecoming for a man who cherished family, faith, and community. A celebration of his life-date still to be determined-will almost certainly include those rellenos, lots of laughter, and sangria served with stories.

He is preceded in death by his parents and all seven of his siblings, and we imagine there's a joyful reunion happening in heaven right about now. If there's a celestial kitchen, John is probably already in it, making scones, having coffee, and chatting with anyone ready to make a new friend.

If you'd like to honor John David's life, in lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of his favorite charities:

• Heifer International

• St. Joseph's Indian School

• The Nature Conservancy

• Your local foodbank

• Or simply any charity that brings light into the world-just like John did.

John's life was a masterclass in warmth, generosity, and how to tell a really, really bad joke and get away with it. We will miss him fiercely, laugh because of him often, and carry his love and stories with us always.