Edward R. Dutton

Lieutenant Colonel Edward Dutton, age 93, died Wednesday, February 5, 2025 peacefully at his home in Casper, Wyoming after a brief battle with heart failure. His life was well lived.

Burial will be at the Oregon Trail State Veterans Cemetery in Casper Wyoming where he and Arlene elected the Columbarium area.

Private Family Remembrance: As no formal service will be held, the family invites you to take a moment for personal reflection and cherished memories. His favorite Bible passage was “The LORD is my Shepherd” Psalm 23.

Edward Dutton was born October 23, 1931 in Bison in northwestern South Dakota, the son of Harry and Anna Adele Ruby Dutton. He is survived by his wife Arlene with 69 years of marriage; his sister Mavis (Carl) Lundgren, his children Gary of Casper, Audrey (Mike Smith) of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Cindy (Colen Gibeau) of Grand Rapids, Minnesota with four grandsons and two granddaughters and six great grandchildren.

Harry and Anna Dutton settled in Perkins County South Dakota in 1910 with their pioneer parents in the Strool-Zeona area. Ed spent his early years on a ranch on Antelope Creek and the Moreau River in Perkins County. The family moved to Sturgis in the Black Hills in 1946 where he entered high school.

While a Junior in high school, he joined the National Guard in November, 1948. After graduation, the 109th Engineer Battalion was called to active duty during the Korean War, September 1950. They trained at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. While there, he was sent to a Camouflage Foreman school at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He returned to Fort Bragg to work at an infiltration course, setting up explosives and machine guns; he directed the machine guns. Then, as a Corporal, he gave basic training to 50 raw recruits before returning to his Company and was promoted to Sergeant and First Squad Leader. The Battalion was loaded on a troop ship and sent to Germany while President Harry Truman was returning troops to protect the European front against Soviet aggression. The 109th Engineer Battalion was assigned to a Group in the Seventh Army, European Theater. The unit was weekly called out with full combat load on Sunday mornings, but this was changed to three weeks in the field each month. He attended the Seventh Army NCO school in Munich, then was a Recon Sergeant for the Battalion. Sergeant First Class Dutton returned to Sturgis after three years to work on a college degree.

Edward Dutton and Arlene Fairbanks were married May 21, 1955 at the Sturgis Presbyterian Church. Lieutenant Dutton and Arlene spent a two-month honeymoon in Washington, DC while he attended Officer Basic School. They picnicked on the Potomac River and toured the National Monuments: They returned to Sturgis where their children Gary, Audrey, and Cindy were born. He graduated from Black Hills State University in 1957. With some private business experience and 12 years teaching in the Black Hills area high schools, he earned a Master's Degree from Northern State University. In addition, he had advanced military schools at the Engineer School at Fort Belvoir and Chemical, Biological Warfare. Major Dutton completed 20 years with the South Dakota National Guard in 1969, receiving an honorary Life Membership in the South Dakota National Guard Association. He was a member of Phi Delta Kappa Fraternity at Black Hilts State.

In 1969, Edward Dutton secured a position as an instructor in the Business Department of Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids, northern Minnesota. Within three years, the department succeeded in tripling its enrollment. He served varying positions as department Chair, Curriculum Committee Chair, and Personnel Committee Chair. He served a term as Division Director of the Minnesota Business Education Association. Having completed Command and General Staff School. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1978. Colonel Dutton was a Charter member of the Iron Range Reserve Officers Association and acted several years as area Liaison Officer for the United States Military Academy at West Point. After 21 years, Edward Dutton retired as Faculty Emeritus at Itasca Community College. He is a Life Member of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Reserve Officers Association, and the National Rifle Association. He has been a long-time sustaining member of the Republican Party. With six proven Patriots in the United States Revolution (Margaret Eskridge Kenner, Barnabas Otis, James Seaton, Ebenezer Spooner, James Sprague, and Major Joshua Sprague) he is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution. His grandsons are all members of the SAR, and two granddaughters are members of the DAR. Edward Dutton served as Secretary of the Wyoming Society of the American Revolution from 2008 to 2015, earning the NSSAR Meritorious Service Medal in 2013, the NSSAR Liberty Medal, and the Wyoming Distinguished Medal in 2015. He was honored with placement in the Wyoming Society, Sons of the American Revolution HALL OF FAME 2016.

Although Ed will be greatly missed, we will celebrate his life, and we find comfort that he is at peace.