David Lee Dutton

David passed away after a brief illness on March 31, 2025, in Fresno, Calif. He was 82 years old.

David was a hunter, motorcyclist, astronomer, sports car enthusiast, cat lover, history and politics buff, mountain man, voracious reader and world traveler. He tackled his pursuits with gusto. He rode several hundred thousand miles on his motorcycles (BSA Lightening, BMW R90/6, Yamaha VMAX), across most states, Canada and Mexico. When he retired from motorcycling in his 70s, he didn’t slow down – he bought a Corvette.

He built an observatory on his mountaintop homestead in Coarsegold, Calif., and hopscotched the globe chasing solar eclipses. After a lifetime of hunting deer, rabbits and racoons in the U.S., he embarked on two African safaris, shooting (no, not with a camera) a Cape Buffalo and zebra.

Later in life, he realized he had been to six continents. It was a shortfall he could not accept, so he booked a trip to Antarctica. Greeted by penguins and a vast tundra, he declared it one of his most beautiful destinations.

Born on July 27, 1942, in Canton, Ohio, David graduated from Perry High School in 1960, and earned his bachelor's and master’s degrees from Kent State University. Later, he earned his doctorate – and met his soul mate and travel companion – at the University of Toledo. David and Bonnie graduated, married and moved to California to start a life together. They taught at Fresno State University, built their nearby mountain home, and traveled the world.

David was predeceased by his wife, Bonnie (Jeffers) Dutton, and his parents, Virgil and Helen (Shreffler) Dutton. He is survived by his son, Geoffrey Dutton and his wife Melissa, and their sons, Nicholas and Alexander Dutton, of Bexley, Ohio.

He is also survived by his stepchildren: Colleen Gensler of Toledo, Ohio; David (Peggy) Jordan, of Green Valley, Ariz.; Jill (Nick) Anderson of Prescott, Arizona; and Tim (Susan) Helms of Prescott, Ariz.; as well as David Jordan’s children, Patrick, Michael and Kelly Jordan; Colleen Gensler’s children, Olivia (Gensler) Rall and Dylan Gensler; Jill Anderson’s children, Nicholas and Peter Brown; and Tim Helms’s children, Stephen and Sydney Helms.

David is interred at North Fork Cemetery in North Fork, Calif.

Please join family and friends for a celebration of life ceremony on Saturday, July 26, at Palm Memorial Sierra Chapel in Oakhurst, Calif., at 11:00 a.m., followed by margaritas and lunch at El Cid Mexican Restaurant. If you are unable to attend, please send a memory or photos to share: [email protected]