LEONARD SUTTON
March 13, 1937-Dec. 27, 2005
Leonard Franklin Sutton, 68, of Richmond, Va., died Tuesday at Johnston-Willis Hospital in Richmond.
The funeral will be conducted at 2 p.m. Friday at Jarvis Memorial United Methodist Church in Greenville, N.C. Interment at Greenwood Cemetery will be private.
Mr. Sutton was born in Duplin County to the late Antoinette Hill Sutton and Randolph Marcellus Sutton. A graduate of B.F. Grady High School in Duplin County, he graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Master of Arts in Education. In 1959, he married Geralene Mills at Jarvis Memorial United Methodist Church in Greenville, while both were students at East Carolina University.
Mr. Sutton served in the United States Army as a paratrooper with the 503rd Paratrooper Regiment, 11th Airborne Division, Headquarters Company, from 1954-1957, and was honored by the United Daughters of the Confederacy with the Distinguished Cross for Military Service.
Mr. Sutton taught at Oak Grove School in Richmond, served as Assistant Principal at Westhampton School and as Principal at Patrick Henry Elementary School, retiring from the Richmond Public Schools in 1977. He served as a Professor at Richmond Polytechnic Institute and Virginia Commonwealth University. He was honored by the Virginia Congress of Parents and Teachers for outstanding contributions to public education in Virginia and received the Outstanding Service Award from the Richmond Principals Association.
Mr. Sutton owned and operated Sutton Farms in Duplin County and maintained real estate and investment interests in Pitt County and Duplin County.
Mr. Sutton is survived by his wife, Geralene Mills Sutton of Richmond, Va.; a daughter, Allison Sutton Fuqua, and husband, Randall Gray Fuqua, of Russellville, Ky.; a son, Dr. Leonard Franklin Sutton Jr., and wife, Brooks Sykes Sutton, of Greenville, N.C.; two granddaughters, Caroline Mills Fuqua and Sarah Randall Fuqua of Russellville, Ky.; a brother, Marcellus Lanier Sutton, and wife, Christine Carter Sutton, of LaGrange; and a sister, Mary Rose Stocks, and husband, Mack Carlton Stocks, of Greenville, N.C.
The family will receive friends today from 6 until 8 p.m. at Wilkerson Funeral Home in Greenville, N.C. At other times the family will receive friends at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Leonard Franklin Sutton Jr., 118 King George Road, Greenville.
Memorial contributions may be made to Historic Sutton Chapel, P.O. Box 674, Mount Olive, N.C., 28365.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on December 29, 2005 1:56 PM