Carol S. Dutton's Obituary
A joyous noise was heard in Heaven yesterday! Carol Dutton was cheerfully-received into the Pearly Gates by all of her brothers and sisters, mother and father, and of course, a recent arrival, her husband of 65 years, Granville Dutton. “Well done thou good and faithful servant!” was heard loud and clear throughout the Kingdom. Born Carol Augusta Sullivan at her home in Yarborough, Texas, a suburb of Navasota, on June 15th 1929 she was raised in the country with three sisters and two brothers during the Great Depression. They were poor, but really lacked nothing thanks to an entrepreneurial father, Paw (Eddie Jr) Sullivan and hard-working mother (Mammy) and siblings. The second to the youngest of this Catholic family of eight, her siblings watched out for their pretty little sister who had tomboy tendencies. She attended college at University of Houston with a Child Psychology major, but left in her junior year, when she was swept off her feet by a dashing young engineer from Sun Oil Company. They met at her sister’s wedding…her a bridesmaid, and him a mud engineer with a one-day leave from his rig due to a delayed shipment of casing. They married in 1950 and enjoyed a couple of years without children, until Robert (Robin) and Richard (Rick) showed up in 1952 and 1953 respectively. Carol soon learned that her training in child psychology was pretty much useless. These primitive apes (as Granville used to call them) violated all the rules, and made life challenging for Carol. In 1956, Charles Dutton was born on Granville’s birthday and was a welcome relief from the fledging gangsters. Living in Dallas, they attended Casa Linda Presbyterian Church where Granville was an Elder and Carol taught Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and Women’s Bible Classes. They were very active in the Church, oil company functions, and the Republican Party conventions. In 1972 Carol went back to college at Texas Women’s College, where she got a degree in English and a Teaching Certificate, graduating cum laude. In 1979 Carol and Granville welcomed the lovely Toni Myrick Dutton into their lives as the wife of Rick. They soon created two beautiful children, Aaron in 1981 and Denise in 1982. These kids were so superb that Carol and Granville took them on many of their travels where they saw many sights and met many famous people. These were the children they always wanted: polite, interesting, and good travelers…not the retrograde primates like their first two. After substitute teaching other retrograde primates, Carol decided that teaching was not her calling, and she went to work for her friend and successful Otologist, Dr “Cub” Culbertson. She loved working in this office and made many friends, most of them women half her age; and on Friday afternoons they would all celebrate TGIF at a local Margarita bar. This wonderful part of her life got interrupted by the terminal disease that eventually took the life from her son Charles at the age of 33, in the prime of his life and career as a film and video producer. Carol took good care of Charles to the very end, and was with him when he left for the Promised Land. He was the first to greet her there with a huge hug. This tragedy took its toll on Carol until answered prayer came her way when son Robin married Nancy Jane Filla in Houston in 1991. Carol and Granville had always wanted a little girl for a daughter, and had planned to name her Nancy Jane…now it was real, and son Robin began his evolution to upright primate. By this time, Granville’s oil and gas production business was in full swing, and he and Carol were travelling the world, wining and dining, first class, and truly enjoying life. They gave back thanks to the Lord for this wonderful lifestyle by visiting and comforting old, sick and dying people in Dallas and elsewhere. Carol had a special-focus ministry for AIDS patients, as well as men’s and women’s prison inmates. She brought many people to the saving grace of Jesus Christ with her down-home, personal-caring charm. She had no fear in personally witnessing to hardened criminals face to face. She was warmly greeted by these souls when she made her celebrated and glorious entrance into Paradise. Around 2005, Carol was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and she began losing her memory. However, she was still able to attend family reunions and travel on Granville’s Road Warrior journeys. Rarely complaining or in a bad mood, Carol was an amazing trooper against this dreadful disease. In fact, she never lost her sense of humor and was sometimes entertaining with her antics. After an eleven-year battle, she passed peacefully in her sleep at home surrounded by family. She is preceded in death by her husband Granville and her son Charles Dutton. She is also preceded by her sisters: Elise (Tookie) Laurence, Martha Jonas, Marianne Hayes, and brothers Edward III (Bud) and Robert (Bob) Sullivan. Survivors include: sons Robin and Rick, grandson Aaron and wife Rachael Dutton and great-grandsons Joseph, Jacob, and Mason; and granddaughter Denise (Dee) and husband Doug Brown. Carol is also preceded and survived by dozens of friends and neighbors, cousins and relatives in the Navasota and South Texas area who loved her dearly. There is a precious soul missing from the face of the Earth today. By the way, the aforementioned primates grew up to be fine old men who have made the world a better place and eventually pleased their parents greatly. In fact, Rick and Toni left their home, family and friends in Arizona two years ago to move in with Carol and Granville and take care of them in their twilight years…truly a magnificent sacrifice. Visitation will be held at Restland Funeral Home from 5 to 7 pm on Friday the 8th of April. Services will be held Saturday the 9th of April at New Covenant Presbyterian Church at 2525 N Buckner Blvd, 1 pm with a reception following the service. Graveside services are in the Court of Reflections on the South side of Restland Memorial Park at 4 pm. Please stop the information booth at the main entrance to the cemetery, if needed, for a map and directions. A Celebration of Carol’s Life will immediately follow the Graveside Services at the Embassy Suites at N Central Expressway and I635. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Restland Funeral Home and Memorial Park located at 13005 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75243. Donations in lieu of flowers, memorials should be given to the New Covenant Church: www.ncpcdallas.org.
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