Ralph Dutton

Ralph Eugene Dutton went to be with the Lord on May 1, 2013. A funeral service will be 11:00am on Monday, May 6, 2013 at the Hope United Methodist Church in Blue Earth, with Rev. Janet Crissinger-Clark officiating. Interment will follow at Riverside Cemetery in Blue Earth. Visitation will be 4:00pm-7:00pm Sunday, May 5, 2013 at Patton Funeral Home 400 East 14th Street, Blue Earth, MN, and 1 hour before the service at the church. Web tributes may be left at www.pattonfh.comRalph saw his first light of day on April 11, 1921 in Ledyard, Iowa. His proud parents were Walter and Olive (Lyon) Dutton. Ralph''s passion in life was to farm the land of this great nation. Thus, after serving his country in the Army Air Corps, Pacific Theater during World War II (1942-1946), he returned to the Blue Earth area to begin a farming career that spanned over 60 years. He married Ilean Yvonne Procknow on May 7, 1943 upon completion of his military training in Los Angeles, California. They would have celebrated 70 years of marriage on May 7, 2013. During his farming career, Ralph also established a fine dairy herd of Registered Holsteins (Duttondale Holsteins) that won many awards for production at dairy shows on the local, regional and state level. Ralph and Ilean raised three sons; Ron (Nancy) veterinarian- Atlanta, GA, Roger (LaDonna) farmer- Blue Earth, Randy (Sin Cha) optometrist- Knoxville, TN. He is also survived by eight grandchildren: Casey (Kelly) Powell-San Diego, CA; Samantha (James) Oliver- Lakeville, MN; Brent (Leslie) Dutton- Charlotte, NC; Ryan (Arlette) Dutton- Blue Earth; Lance Dutton- Atlanta, GA; Courtney (Brian) Helmstetter- Lakeville, MN; Amanda Dutton- Quincy, IL and Christopher Dutton- Miami, FL. Ralph is also survived by nine great-grandchildren. Finally, he is survived by a younger brother, Robert, Ashville, NC and a younger sister Marian Eastvold, Forest City, Iowa.Ralph was preceded in death by his parents, sisters: Helen Onsen, Laura Dobson, Dorothy Hanson and a young child sister, Elsie B. Dutton