Life Stories & News
Published two days after Eldon’s death, this obituary preserves a compact account of his childhood, Navy service, survival of Pearl Harbor, marriage, postwar work, veterans’ affiliations, family, and final honors.
From the family archive
SPARTA, Wis. — Eldon Walter Dutton, 72, of 724 Wellington St., Sparta, died Thursday, Dec. 3, 1992, in the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Tomah. He was born Feb. 26, 1920, in Sparta to Walter and Pearl (Davis) Dutton. He grew up in Angelo and graduated from Sparta High School in 1939. He entered the U.S. Navy on April 2, 1940, being discharged April 4, 1946. He was a Pearl Harbor survivor.
He married Harriet Fish on June 8, 1940, in Decorah, Iowa.
After the service, he worked at the VA hospital in Tomah, then at Camp McCoy, retiring in 1975. He was a member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors, VFW and the American Legion. He attended the Pearl Harbor Survivors 50th Anniversary at Pearl Harbor.
He is survived by his wife, Harriet of Sparta; seven sons, John of Rice Lake, Kenneth and Michael, both of Sparta, Stephen of Tomah, Joseph of Sparta, Timothy of West Salem and Jeffrey of Sparta; three daughters, Mrs. Gary (Elda) Hinch of Palm Harbor, Fla., Diana Streeton of Tomah and Mrs. Ronald (Barbara) Rohn of Boscobel, Wis.; 19 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; a sister, Mrs. Minert (Pauline) DeVoe of Sparta; four brothers, Ralph of Gainesville, Ga., LaVerne of Sullivan, Ohio, Wayne of Janesville, Wis., and Roland of Atchison, Kans. He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Kenneth.
Services will be Monday, Dec. 7, at 11 a.m. in Calvary Baptist Church with the Rev. Ronald Sherid officiating. Burial with full military honors will be in the Angelo Oak Grove Cemetery. Friends may call at Lanham-Kann Funeral Home in Sparta after 5 p.m. Sunday and at the church Monday from 10 a.m. until the time of services. There will be an American Legion service at the funeral home at 7 p.m. Sunday.
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