Reese Martin Dutton

WADESBORO – On Sunday, August 23, 2026, Mr. Reese Martin Dutton, 98, passed away peacefully at this home surrounded by the love of his daughter.

Funeral services will be 3:00 PM, Sunday, August 30, 2026, in the Chapel of Leavitt Funeral Home with Rev. Kevin Ricketts officiating. Interment will follow in Mt. Beulah Baptist Church Cemetery with military honors.

The family will greet friends at the cemetery following the service.

Reese was born May 27, 1928, in the Long Pine section of the White Store Township in Anson County and was a son of the late James Gaston Dutton and the late Lelia Julania Cass Dutton. He was a graduate of Deep Creek High School and a graduate of North Carolina State University with a bachelor's degree in journalism and photography.

He embodied a very strong work ethic with an extensive career life. He worked for 13 years at Ballet Hosiery in Wadesboro and later followed up with work using the degree from NC State. He worked with The Richmond County Daily Journal in Rockingham, as a photographer, journalist and typesetter. He then worked in journalism and photography, with the Wadesboro local newspapers, The Messenger and Intelligencer and The Anson Record.

Reese later went on to work with the Anson County Public Schools, teaching Photography and Graphic Arts Communication at Bowman High School. He chose to follow his wife, Margaret, in retirement to be her primary caregiver for 14 years, prior to her passing.

A man of great faith, he was a member of Mt. Beulah Baptist Church, where over the years he has taught Sunday school, sang in the choir, and served as Deacon.

Reese was a proud veteran of the United States Marine Corps, having answered the 1951 draft during the Korean War. He served with the “Always Faithful” as an expert rifleman and was honorably discharged. He was always a strong supporter of all military personnel and law enforcement officers in Anson County.

Those who are left to cherish his memory are his daughter, Maresa Dutton Phillips (Phil Lowder) of Wadesboro; his daughter-in-law, Carol Mangum Dutton of Sunset Beach his grandchildren, Courtney Watts (Austin Morton) of Wadesboro, Tilden Phillips (Korin Barker) of Denver, and Kristine Dutton of Raleigh; his great-grandchildren, Kamryn Winfield, Zoe Mangum, and Levi Reese Morton; his nieces and nephews and their families and cousins.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Margaret Henry Dutton; his son, Dwight Dutton and by his four sisters and eight brothers.

The family is most grateful to his primary care physician, Kelly Dutton Horne, Carolina Primary Care and Atrium Health Anson; and to Anson Community Hospice and Richmond County Hospice, nurses, Natalie Barber and Karen Stogner for compassionate care they gave Reese while he was in their care.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Anson Community Hospice a Division of Richmond County Hospice, 1119 US 1 N, Rockingham, NC 28379.

The arrangements are in care of Leavitt Funeral Home and online condolences may be made at www.leavittfh.com