- G. J. Sutton
Garlington Jerome “G. J.” Sutton (
June 22 ,1909 -June 22 ,1976 ) was the first black official elected fromSan Antonio ,Texas , United States.Early life and marriage
G. J. Sutton was the eighth of fifteen children. His parents Samuel and Lillian were both educators with his father being one of the first black in
Bexar County . He also served as principal of three high schools. All of his siblings graduated from college. His brothers includedPercy Sutton (owner ofApollo Theater in New York City and attorney forNation of Islam leaderMalcolm X ) and Oliver Sutton (judge on theNew York Supreme Court ).Sutton attended
Wiley College inMarshall, Texas , but earned hisbachelor of science degree fromWilberforce University in 1932. He later gain a degree inmortuary science fromCincinnati College .He married Ms. Jeffrey Plummer and had one daughter who they named Jeffrey Dean Sutton. He later married
Lou Nelle Sutton in 1958 with whom he remained with until his death. GJ is survived by his daughter Jeffrey Dean Sutton who married Army Lt. Col. Stonell B. Greene and had three daughters: Jerilan Denise Greene, Janiece Birnell Greene and Jeffrey Lynette Greene.Business
In 1938, Mr. Sutton joined his brother to operate Sutton and Sutton Mortuary. The mortuary is still in business today. He also founded Gates of Heaven Memorial Gardens Cemetery in San Antonio. He is buried alongside his wife at that cemetery in the family plot.
Politics
Sutton served as a delegate to the
1960 Democratic National Convention . When theTexas House of Representatives redrew their districts in 1972, Sutton became the first black official elected in San Antonio. He served in that capacity until his death on his birthday in 1976. With the encouragement of his best friend Rev.Claude Black , his wife Lou Nelle Sutton would run and succeed her husband in the Texas House of Representatives.There is a Federal building named in his honor, which is located in San Antonio.
References
"
San Antonio Express ",June 23 ,1976 . "Who's Who among Black Americans, 1975-76".External links
*
* [http://www.tpr.org/articles/2005/02/blackhistory17.asx Former San Antonio Mayor Judge Nelson Wolfe on G.J. Sutton]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.