Dee Jay Sutton was born February 16, 1934, in Orion (Gove County), Kansas
and died from COVID-19 January 30, 2021 in Athens, Alabama. He was 84 years
old. Son of the late Leslie and Maud, husband to the late Rhoda (nee Benson).
He is survived by his children; Diane Sutton, Wayne (Judy) Sutton, Donald (Hyon Suk) Sutton, Andrea (Lee) Nall and Andrew (Lori) Sutton, 16 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and a passel of nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by brothers Lonzo, George, Earl and Clair, and
sisters AltaMae, Allie and Alice.
After graduating high school, Dee Jay joined the Air Force and proudly
served his country for 20 years. Among his favorite tours of duty were Newfoundland (where he met his wife, Rhoda), England, and Alaska. Upon his
military retirement, he worked at Boeing in St. Louis for many years, and
First Data in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dee Jay was raised in western Kansas where began a lifelong love of horses,
rodeos and all things Western. Wayne tells the story of buying his first
rifle when Dee Jay took he and Don shooting. Proud rifle owner, Wayne,
offered the gun to Dee Jay to fire off a few shots and was very surprised to
find his dad was a good shot!
Dee Jay had an easy smile and loved to make people laugh. He enjoyed
puzzles of all kinds. He often found unique ways of problem-solving.
Andrew liked to say his dad could fix anything with a piece of string. And
Dee Jay was the ear-splitting cheerleader at Don’s high school swim meets.
Don said he could hear Dad’s cheers even when he was under water. LOL
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Shriners Hospitals for Children
or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Interment at Jefferson Barracks
National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.
