The Greatest Generation
Imagine growing up without a phone, TV, or a car. My father grew up like that. They call his generation, “The greatest generation,” and I truly believed it was. They endured depressions, droughts, and world wide wars, My father was able to witness the evolution of the automobile, airplanes, computers, space travel, heart transplants and many more feats that didn’t exist then, that we take for granted today.
Glenn Ewing Dutro was born August 21, 1926 in Harrisonville, MO to Tony and Elsie Dutro. He had two older sisters, Eloise and Thelma. They lived on a 200 acre farm, where they grew and raised their own food, while Elsie was a nurse at the local hospital. Elsie would take dad to to the one room school house on their horse if the weather was bad, otherwise he had to walk the mile or so. Life was hard, they endured and made the most of it. In high school, Dad played football, when in 1943 the team lost only one game, in the last 45 seconds, to Lee’s Summit!
At 17, WWII was raging and Dad enlisted in the Navy, with the parents signing a special form, acknowledging he was underage. Fighting for our freedom is what they did back in those days. He was assigned to LSM 192, a rocket ship that left Charleston, South Carolina and ended up in the battle of Okinawa. After the allies won that battle they had to endure a typhoon and a direct hit by a “kamikaze” dive bomber, but they limped back to Pearl Harbor where they worked 24/7 to ready the ship for the invasion of Japan, when President Truman took charge and ended the war. Imagine being from the middle of America, never seeing an ocean, and going thru all of that.
After the war, back in Harrisonville, Glenn started dating Dixie and they married on October 29, 1949. The marriage lasted 73 years when Dixie went to heaven on Christmas Eve in 2022. They had two children, me (Ken), and my sister Sharon. They moved to Lee’s Summit in 1954 and stayed there for the duration. Dad was a millwright by trade and a damn good welder. They installed bowling alley equipment, worked on grain elevators, set heavy turbines and generators, built conveyor systems and a multitude of other industrial machinery. Upon retiring in the late 80’s they enjoyed a simple life, getting the most joy from backyard BBQ’s or fish fry’s and shrimp boils with their family. A steak and baked potato was his favorite meal. Oh, and don’t forget the homemade ice cream in the summers.
My dad was a simple, practical man with common sense. A virtue that I’m claiming he instilled in me. I’m sure everybody had a time when they thought their parents were the dumbest people around, including me. Now, I see my Dad as one of the smartest guys I know. He became my rock and best friend.
Dad is survived by children Sharon and Jim and Ken and Kelly, grandchildren, great grandkids, lots of nieces and nephews, and many friends.
We are laying him to rest today on Dixie’s birthday and I know she’ll be waiting for him, ready to go have a good time. It won’t take long tho, before he grabs her hand and says “Come on Dix, lets go” and mom will say “we just got here, I’m not ready yet.” I guess when your in heaven theres no where else to go, so Dad, you better acquire some more patience!
Rest in peace, Dad. We are all very proud of you, will miss you always, and love you very much.
