Glenn Leo Dutton, 86, of Magnolia, Texas, passed away peacefully at the home of his son, Clay Dutton, and his daughter-in-law, Sherry Dutton, on March 1, 2025.
He will be remembered at a graveside service held at Orange Forest Lawn Cemetery in West Orange, Texas on Saturday, March 15 at 2:00 p.m., and a memorial service at Magnolia Creek Baptist Church in League City, Texas on Sunday, March 16 at 3:00 p.m. Both services will be officiated by his son, Dr. Brett Dutton.
Glenn was born on August 28, 1938, in Gering, a small, rural farming town in the panhandle of Nebraska. He was the son of Waldo and Hazel Dutton, whose families traveled west across the United States in covered wagons and settled in Gering in the late 1800s. He spent his childhood hiking in the hills around Gering and his family’s land in Carter Canyon, just south of town.
After he graduated high school in 1956, he left home and attended the University of Nebraska, where he majored in Mechanical Engineering. He graduated in 1961 and moved to Houston, Texas, to work for the Ingersoll-Rand Corporation. After working there for fourteen months, he enlisted in the United States Air Force and attended Officer Training School at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. His years as an active-duty Officer in the Air Force would take him to Adair Air Force Station in Corvallis, Oregon, for two years and then to Tatalina Air Force Station, thirteen miles north of McGrath, Alaska, a remote radar station constructed to provide an early warning for the military in case Russia attacked the United States during The Cold War. His active duty ended after spending two years at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado, but his military service was not finished yet. He joined the Air National Guard and served for another 30 years until he retired in 1998 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
During his brief time in Southeast Texas before joining the Air Force, he met the true love of his life, Sandra Jean Wainwright, as they sang in the choir at North End United Methodist Church in Beaumont, Texas. They were engaged to be married before he was assigned to serve in Alaska, but since no family members were allowed at the radar station, they had to wait another year to exchange their vows. They were married for 40 years and built a wonderful life together in Orange, Texas, where he worked for the Gulf Chemical Company (which would later become Chevron) as a Plant Engineer and Maintenance Supervisor until his retirement in 1998. He was dedicated to taking care of Sandy and her many health needs around the clock until she passed away in 2006.
He spent his life serving many different organizations in the town he called “home,” Orange, Texas. Some of his favorites included serving in several roles at his church, Faith Methodist Church, being a boat driver for the Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center, being an Usher and Greeter at the Lutcher Theater, being a member of the Gulf Coast Veterans Honor Guard, the Community Emergency Response Team, helping as a volunteer at the Orange Public Library, and being President of the Chevron Retirees Association. He also loved reading to elementary school kids, helping clean up the beach at Sabine Pass, and playing the French Horn in the Community Band. He loved all kinds of music and sang in every church choir he could. He was a huge fan of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the Dallas Cowboys, and the West Orange-Stark High School Football Team. He was a father devoted to his two sons, serving as a leader in the Boy Scouts, a chaperone in the West Orange-Stark Mighty Mustang Band, and everything else they endeavored to do.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Waldo and Hazel Dutton, his oldest brother, Ronald; and his wife, Sandra Jean Wainwright.
He is survived by his two sons, Brett Dutton and his wife, Heather, of League City, Texas, and Clay Dutton and his wife, Sherry, of Magnolia, Texas; granddaughters, Dannika, her husband, Bishop, and their daughter, Glenn’s first great-grandchild, Delanie, and Victoria Dutton and her fiancée, Brady; brothers, Harvey Dutton, of Melbeta, Nebraska and Roy Dutton and his wife, Sharon, of Denver, Colorado.
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