- Date Of Birth: February 1, 1925
- Date Of Death: February 6, 2014
- State: Indiana
William E. Sutton, 89, of New Carlisle, passed away on Thursday February 6, 2014 in Memorial Hospital. He was born on February 1, 1925, in South Bend, to the late Guy and Eva (Graves) Sutton. Bill enlisted in the Army. He was 18 years old, a senior in high school and was going to be drafted. After he was in the Army, he took a test and was accepted by the Army as a Cadet and sent to Macalester College, St. Paul MN. Hubert Humphrey was one of his professors, Bill was in training to fly helicopters. After the Battle of the Bulge, everyone who wasn’t in the later stages of training was washed out and sent to Europe. Bill was with General Patton’s 3rd Army at the Siegfried Line. He was in eight countries and told about liberating people from concentration camps. They had been treated like slaves and some had been there for several years. Bill was doing communications work, laying wire and he and his fellow soldiers found that they had somehow laid wire behind enemy lines. They were challenged by their own troops when they came back. Bill was with the Artillery at one period of time and then with the infantry. He was a jack-of-all-trades. When Bill was in the service he wrote to, Vi, often. She has kept all of the letters through the many months that he was gone. Bill and Vi met on a blind date. He was with Vi’s girlfriend, after that he dated Vi. Bill had worked at Bendix Corporation nights during his last year in high school, he went to the service his Senior year. He was laid off just before he and Vi were married. So he worked at Oliver Corporation and then Kreamo Bread Company. From Kremo Bread Company he decided to buy Smokey’s Drive-inn, Buchanan, MI. Bill and his family worked there for 13 years. His children, Bill R. and Becky grew up and worked there. Bill loved the drive-inn and all the young people who worked for us. Then he sold the drive-inn and was too young to retire, so we started the Village Florist in New Carlisle, with son Bill. Eventually Mr. Bill retired and Bill R. bought out the business and then it became the Village Shoppes, Inc. When Bill returned from the service in 1946, he married Violet M. Lawson, who survives. They had two children, William R. Sutton of New Carlisle and Rebecca Anne “Andy” Sutton. Becky passed away in 2008 and now will be joined by her Dad. They are both happy now, but Bella is having a difficult time. She’s our dog and has spent her whole life as Mr. Bill’s companion, but she will be all right. She knows her buddy was tired. All the people that we worked with have been so kind and caring. Thank you to all Bill’s employees they are very special people, they are family.
