Rural Montezuma man and cancer survivor wins John Deere Gator in Dan Mauss Benefit raffle

      Bryant Sutfin is the winner of the 2023 John Deere Gator 835M raffled off during the Dan Mauss Benefit on Jan. 27. The new Gator was delivered to Sutfin at his parents’ farm in rural Montezuma on Tuesday, Feb. 6. Pictured at the presentation are Sutfin, far left, his wife, Rylee, and son, Lucas, almost 3 and Bentley, a two-week-old newborn. At right is Brian Van Roekel and Dan Mauss, both with Van Wall Equipment in Grinnell. Mauss just finished chemotherapy and radiation treatments on Feb. 14 after doctors discovered a tumor on his brain in November 2023. Sutfin is also a cancer survivor, having Non-Hodgkin T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma in 2016.

By J.O. Parker
 
        And the winner is…
       Bryant Sutfin of rural Montezuma is the winner and new owner of a 2023 John Deere Gator 835M raffled off during the Dan Mauss Benefit last month.
        Brian Van Roekel and Mauss, both with Van Wall Equipment in Grinnell, delivered the new Gator to Sutfin at his parent’s house in rural Montezuma on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
        Bryant was joined by his parent’s, Billy and Tammy Sutfin, his brother, Brandon Sutfin and his wife, Rylee, and two boys, Lucas, almost 3 and Bentley, two weeks old, during the brief gathering. He then promptly gave his wife and two boys a spin in the new Gator around the farm.
      The Dan Mauss Benefit was held on Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Poweshiek County Fairgrounds Exhibit Building in Grinnell. An estimated 1,000 family, friends, local and area farmers and customers of Mauss and others were in attendance at the benefit. The evening included silent and live auctions, a 50-50 drawing, the Gator raffle and food prepared by Paglia’s in Grinnell.
        Mauss, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor on Nov. 16., had surgery on Nov. 22 and went home on Friday, Nov. 24. He just finished chemotherapy and radiation treatments on Feb. 14 and says he’s beating the cancer.
         Amazingly, Sutfin is a cancer survivor himself.
In December 2015 while on Christmas break from Kirkwood, Sutfin, a 2014 graduate of Montezuma High School, noticed a lump on his neck. His first thought was it was a swollen lymph node from having a sore throat.
        At the beginning of January, the lump was still there and Sutfin was having what he and his family thought were symptoms of pneumonia. 
        His mother, Tammy, took him to Mercy Hospital in Iowa City to the ER, where they determined after a chest X-ray that there was a mass sitting over his upper chest.
       “Within a few days and several tests, doctors determined I had Non-Hodgkin T-Cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma,” said Sutfin.
          Sutfin was then transferred to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics where he started a treatment plan in mid-January 2016. He was in the hospital for a full 30 days at the beginning and off and on throughout his treatment plan that lasted 3.5 years long. His last treatment was in May 2019. Sutfin is currently cancer free.
         Since his cancer treatments, Sutfin has had to have one hip replacement and two elbow surgeries due to his bones deteriorating from the steroids.
          Sutfin and Rylee were married in July 2019. The couple lives between Gibson and Barnes City.
         Sutfin works for the Iowa Department of Transportation out of the Malcom shop and farms with his dad and brother. Rylee graduated from Des Moines University in May 2023 with her PA (physician assistant) degree. She currently works at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in the Cardiac Thoracic Department.