Obituary: Rose Marie Sutton, 81, of Scottville.

Rose Marie Sutton

Obituary: Rose Marie Sutton, 81, of Scottville.

Rose Marie married Dale D. Sutton on August 30, 1963.  Dale likes to tell people about meeting her:  “I moved to Ironton to teach school, and went to church the first Sunday, and sat in the back row of pews.  I nearly went blind trying to see if a young lady in the second row of the choir was wearing a wedding ring.  I was the luckiest man in the world when I saw that she was not.”  After marrying, Dale and Rose Marie moved to Arnold, Missouri, where Dale taught high school and Rose Marie worked in bookkeeping at the Arnold Savings Bank.  They lived there for five years, but suburban St. Louis could not compare with the beautiful Arcadia Valley where they met.  They moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, where Rose Marie worked at the Valley National Bank and Dale completed a master’s degree at Northern Arizona University.  They then moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where Rose Marie worked in bookkeeping at J.C. Penney and Dale completed his Ph.D.  Daughter Laurie was born in Lincoln in 1970.  In 1971, the family moved to Scottville, Michigan, and in 1972 purchased the George All farm, called Rolling Acres, on South Tuttle Road in Custer Township.  Daughter Sara was born in Ludington in 1972.  Rose Marie lived at Rolling Acres Farm until her death.

Rose Marie lived a very happy and contented life with her daughters and husband at the little farm.  She worked in bookkeeping at State Savings Bank of Scottville (now West Shore Bank) for more than 10 years, and retired in the mid-1990s.  She loved her job and the people she worked with.  She also loved traveling, taking many memorable trips with her family.  She and Dale especially loved the Southwest, and after retirement spent many happy winters in their camper in New Mexico and Arizona, as well as various southern states.  For their 50th wedding anniversary in 2013, Dale and Rose Marie, along with their daughters and son-in-law Dave Tanis, went to Martha’s Vineyard to celebrate.  The highlight of her travels was a trip to Wales and Ireland with her daughters in 2011, a lifelong dream come true for her.

Rose Marie was a quiet, thoughtful, dignified person.  She read thousands of books, loved music and birds and flowers, made a million cookies, embroidered beautiful quilts, and made the best pie on the planet.  

She is survived by her husband Dr. Dale Sutton of Scottville; daughter Laurie Sutton of Scottville; daughter Dr. Sara (Dave) Tanis of Kalamazoo; sisters Beverly (Dick) Kiehne of Gordonville, Mo. and Bonnie (Norman) Letsinger of Scottville; brothers J. David Layton (Melinda) of Guadalajara, Mexico, James Layton (Cheri) of Ironton Mo., Earl G. Layton (Sharon) of Houston, Texas, and C. Leonard Layton (Shirley) of Salem, Mo; nieces and nephews, and friends from her hometown, her work, and her time as a member of the Sugar Ridge Church of the Brethren.

Rose Marie’s life will be celebrated with dignity and heartfelt emotion centered around a gathering for family and friends at a later time.  Memorials may be made to the Custer Fire Department and Hospice of Michigan.