Stanley Leon Sutton
Stanley Leon Sutton, 94, died February 18, 2015 at Presbyterian Manor Of The Plains in Dodge City. He was born on December 13, 1920 at Ensign, Kansas the son of Arthur and Mattie Sutton.
He grew up in Dodge City and graduated from Dodge City High School and Dodge City Junior College and immediately enlisted in the U.S. Navy as an aviation cadet, prior to WWII. Stanley was a naval aviator in WWII and the Korean Conflict. In WWII he was a member of Torpedo Squadron 3 aboard the aircraft carrier Saratoga. In 1942 and 1943 he flew 63 missions from the Saratoga and Henderson Field in the Solomon Islands Group. In his lifetime he accumulated over 8000 hours as a naval and commercial pilot.
Stanley married Delores VanVoorhis on June 5, 1942 and she preceded him in death on July 8, 2002. He owned and operated the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Dodge City for 25 years and later was a realtor until retiring at the age of 90.
He was a member of the Saint Cornelius Episcopal Church, Howard Gotschall Post #1714, V.F.W. and the St. Bernard Lodge #222 AF & AM all of of Dodge City.
Mr. Sutton is survived by two daughters, Marta Dark, Camdenton, Missouri and Karen Keck and husband Michael, Martinez, Georgia; a sister Juanita Dasher, Pueblo, Colorado; four grandchildren, nine great grandchildren, one great great grandchild and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Delores Sutton, a younger brother, Eugene “Bud”, declared missing in action in the South Pacific in 1943 at the age of 19 and a son-in-law Joseph Dark in January of 2009.
Funeral service will be held at Swaim Funeral Home on Monday, February 23, 2015 at 2:00 P.M. with Pastor Kirk Larson presiding. Entombment will follow at Scroggins Mausoleum in Dodge City. Military honors by Howard Gotschall Post#1714, V.F.W. and KSARNG Military Honors. Visitation will be at Swaim Funeral Home on Monday, February 23, 2015 from 10:00 A.M. to service time. Memorials are suggested to St. Cornelius Episcopal Church or Hospice of the Prairie in care of the funeral home. The family wishes a special thanks to Odilia Aguilar for her caregiving of Mr. Sutton. Thoughts and memories may be shared in the online guest book at www.swaimfuneralhome.com.
