Norman O. Sutton Jr., 87, of Port Haywood, Va., died Dec. 28, 2012.
He was a native of Mathews County and a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church and the adult choir since 1954. Since joining St. Paul he had been a member of its Administrative Council, Superintendent and Secretary of the Sunday School and served on various committees of the church. He retired in January 1981 as an Engineering Technician after 33 years of service from the Engineering Division of the Ordnance Department, Naval Weapons Station, Yorktown, Va., and after retiring, joined the retirees’ association, WPNSTARA.
Norman was an Army veteran of World War II and participated in the Battle of the Bulge and the Crossing of the Rhine River with the 79th Infantry Division in 1944-45, and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for heroic or meritorious achievement and subsequently was a member of the 79th Division’s 313th Regiment’s Retirees’ Association. He was also a member of Oriental Lodge AF & AM of Mathews for 50 years and in 1968, served as Master of the Lodge.
Norman was preceded in death by his first wife of 50 years, Myrle Hudgins Sutton; a son, Dale Keith Sutton; mother; father; five brothers, and two sisters.
He is survived by his wife of 14½ years, Virginia L. Sutton; a son, Norman Lee Sutton and his wife Evelyn; two grandchildren, Kimberly Blossom and Kevin Sutton; four great-grandchildren; three step-children, Debbie Hudgins, Sharon F. Williams and Perry M. Forrest; seven step-grandchildren and six step-great-grandchildren; one sister-in-law, Jean Sutton of Mathews, along with a number nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of wonderful friends.
The family received friends from 7-9 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012, at Foster-Faulkner Funeral Home with Masonic memorial service at 8 o’clock. A funeral service was conducted in the funeral home chapel at 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 31 by the Rev. Dede Parrish. Burial followed in St. Paul Annex Cemetery at Susan, Va.
Should family and friends desire, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Paul United Methodist Church, c/o Melanie Miles, Box 13, Port Haywood, Va. 23138, or to a charity of their choice.