Clifton J. Dutton

Clifton J. Dutton

WESTERLO — Clifton J. Dutton always spoke his mind. A truck driver, he volunteered as a firefighter for half a century and, his son said, was a strict but fair father.

“My father taught me that honest is the best way,” said Eric Dutton, “so I come right out, and people know where I’m shooting from. That’s what he did.”

Mr. Dutton, known to friends and family as “Sonny,” died on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015, at St. Peter’s Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. He was 74.

He was born March 1, 1940, in Albany, the son of the late James and Margaret Flagler Dutton. The family moved to the rural Helderberg Hilltowns where Mr. Dutton, the middle child in the family — a boy between sisters — was raised.

He went to the Berne-Knox-Westerlo School where he was known as “a loud troublemaker and a prankster in his class,” his family said. “He was not interested too much in school.”

“He was a little shyster,” said Eric Dutton but he said his father didn’t tell stories about his boyhood shenanigans. “Mum’s the word,” said Eric Dutton, explaining that would have undermined his authority as a “strict and fair” father.

“He would speak his mind and let you know when you did wrong,” said his son. “When you were bad, he’d speak once and correct you. If you were bad again, he’d cuff you on the backside.”

Eric Dutton said he got cuffed only once. “I was a quick learner,” he said.

Sonny Dutton was a hard worker. At home, as a boy, his chores included feeding his dog, Snapper, while his sisters sometimes cooked. His parents had routes hauling milk. “Back in the old days,” said his son, “you took the milk right from the farms to the creameries. In my eyes, it’s not milk anymore; it’s white water.”

Mr. Dutton’s first job was hauling milk; he then made truck driving his career for 20 years.

Despite his difficult work schedule, often with nights on the road, Mr. Dutton always made time for his duties as a volunteer firefighter, a tradition he learned from his father and passed on to his son and grandson. He was a life member, past director, and past district chief of the Westerlo Volunteer Fire Company. He also was past chief of the Greenville Volunteer Fire Company.

In addition to serving his community, Mr. Dutton served his country. He was in the United States Army in 1965 and 1966, stationed stateside. “As he was getting his discharge papers to come back home,” his son said, “the first waves of soldiers were being sent to Vietnam. He’d say, ‘I count my lucky stars I didn’t get in the jungles of Vietnam.’ He respected the other guys who were going.”

Throughout his life, Mr. Dutton enjoyed simple country pleasures. “This was the era before electronics,” said his son. Sonny Dutton grew up riding horseback and would compete in area shows — including at a ring in South Berne. “He’d compete in gymkhanas and get ribbons,” said his son.

Sonny Dutton carried on the tradition with his own family as his daughter, Tammy, had a pony. “I was more into horsepower than horses,” said Eric Dutton, who helped repair the mower his grandfather used to tend to the nearby Westerlo cemetery.

“After the military, my father bought a Sears tractor with a little snowplow in front,” said Eric Dutton, commenting on the evolution of the machine.

“My father wasn’t very sports-minded,” said Eric Dutton. He liked watching westerns, roller-skating, and bowling.

Throughout his life, Mr. Dutton’s “biggest passion” was square dancing, said his son. Mr. Dutton and his longtime companion, June Sherman, enjoyed Saturday-night square dancing. And Eric Dutton, who had learned at school, would square dance, too.

“He led a wonderful life full of friendship, relationship, and family,” his family concluded in a tribute.

****

Clifton J. “Sonny” Dutton is survived by his long-time companion, June Sherman; two children, Eric and Tammy Dutton; four grandchildren, Amber, Christopher, James, and Madison Dutton; two sisters, Charlene Teter and her husband, Wayne, and Marie Tucker; and several nieces and nephews. His parents died before him, as did his sister Freda Theiss.

Calling hours will be Saturday, Jan. 10, from 2 to 4 p.m. at A.J. Cunningham Funeral Home, 4898 Route 81, Greenville, followed by the funeral at 4 p.m. Spring burial will be in Westerlo Rural Cemetery. Mourners may leave condolences online at ajcunninghamfh.com.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Westerlo Volunteer Fire Company, Post Office Box 87, or the Westerlo Rescue Squad, Post Office Box 12, both in Westerlo, NY 12193.

— Melissa Hale-Spencer

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