Geoff Sutton died on August 11 at his home in Peoria, Illinois. A few years ago he suffered a stroke, but his death was sudden and unexpected. His family was on hand, including a granddaughter on whom he doted.The 58s who may remember Geoff best are his classmates at Butler School in 1945-1954. A while back he wrote me that he enjoyed viewing the '58 web sites and agreed to be listed in our directory.
I remember Geoff as a gentle, friendly boy with a quick sense of humor. We were distantly related: Geoff was the uncle of Patrick Noonan, husband of my sister, Jo Howarth Noonan.
Update: an obituary appears in the SJR of August 14. It notes that Geoff worked as an aviation photojournalist and was a consultant to Boeing Helicopters. The visitation and memorial service are on Friday, August 17 in Peoria. You may post tributes and condolences in the Guest Book at the SJR obituary.
Allan Stephens, Geoff Sutton, Kim FunkSpring 1946
2 comments:
Geoff and I decided to learn German when were in about the sixth grade. Knowing nothing about language construction, we nevertheless each bought a German-English dictionary and attempted to just insert German words translated directly as we understood it, passing notes to each other in "German." We did this on into eighth grade (we were in the same room all the way through Butler), and to this day I remember some of the words we learned, and what we learned about German word construction, particularly where in American English we would just create a new word, the German word would often be a longish description of the item. E.g., look up the German word for the armored vehicle that we call a "tank," at least the word in use o/a 1952.
Good guy, good mind, good sense of humor... Goodbye.
And no, we never did actually learn to speak German.
--Allan Stephens
Will- I very much appreciate your information about Geoff. We were fairly close as kids. I remember Sutton Music(my first experience of going into a booth with a 33 1/3 record to listen before purchase), the Family's house on Williams Blvd., waving to Geoff as the Sutton family removed from Spfld. to Florida, if memory serves.
I do believe that his widow is Joyce, I know nothing of family.
There is a visitation at Wright & Salmon Mortuary in Peoria Friday, 8/17, from 3 - 6pm. Funeral mass at 6.
Kim
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