La Grande, Oregon
Harold L. Sutton, 91, a La Grande resident and a former longtime Elgin resident, died March 22, 2004, at Grande Ronde Hospital in La Grande.
His funeral will be Friday at 3:30 p.m. in the Elgin United Methodist Church. Vault interment and concluding services will follow in Summerville. Pastor Kay Garver will officiate.
Visitations will be Thursday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Loveland Funeral Chapel 1508 Fourth St. in La Grande.
Mr. Sutton was born March 10, 1913, at Bethlehem, Iowa, to Robert and Viola (Hancock) Sutton. His father died when he was 9-years-old, and he moved with his mother to the Farewell Bend area near Huntington. The family later moved to the Milton-Freewater area where he continued his schooling. He worked at various jobs in that area.
Mr. Sutton married Kathleen Winn on Dec. 2, 1932, at College Place, Wash. In 1935, he moved to Elgin where he began working for the Pondosa Pine Mill. He had worked at various positions at the mill, working there through its sale to Boise Cascade, and working his way up to millwright. He retired from Boise Cascade in 1978.
He greatly enjoyed hunting, fishing, gardening, traveling and camping. He was a longtime member of the Elgin United Methodist Church, the Good Sam Club, and had volunteered for the Elgin Fire Department and ambulance for many years.
Mr. Sutton is survived by his wife, Kathleen of La Grande; two daughters, Barbara Beickel and her husband, Elmer, of La Grande, and Cynthia Gibson of Portland; four foster children, Shirley Taylor of Baker City, Linda Smith and her husband, Leo, and Dennis Swalberg, all of Lebanon, and Robert “Bob” Swalberg of Elgin; four grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in his death by his parents and by two brothers, Vernon and Orville Sutton, both of whom died during the Bataan Death March of World War II.
Contributions in Mr. Sutton’s memory may be made to the Elgin United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 7, Elgin, OR 97827.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, March 26, 2004
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor