George F. Dutt II, [1931-2013]

Longtime educator cherished Tiffin life, served on council, active in local GOP

10/3/2013

TIFFIN — George F. Dutt II, a longtime elementary school principal who was active in the Republican Party and served on City Council, died Friday in his Tiffin home. He was 82.

He had pneumonia, his wife, Janet, said. He developed Parkinson’s disease more than 25 years ago after he fell from a ladder and struck his head, she said.

Mr. Dutt retired in 1991 as principal of Washington Elementary School, a position he had held for 34 years. He recalled well what it was like to be a child, and that formed his approach to teaching children and running a school.

“He had that ability to be able to get along with all different ages,” his wife said. “He loved kids and teachers.”

He taught sixth grade for three years at Noble Elementary and for a year at Washington Elementary before he was named Washington principal.

Mr. Dutt, a former member of Tiffin council, had been vice chairman of the Seneca County Republican Party's central committee.

“We were interested in politics,” said his wife, who was a Republican committeeman.

He and his wife owned and operated a residential rental property business.

The Dutts had been in kindergarten together, but became reacquainted when the future Mrs. Dutt, who had been a music teacher in Columbus Grove, Ohio, returned to Tiffin to teach second grade. He was teaching sixth grade on another floor, but they began to have lunch together, then to date and, on Dec. 19, 1955, Mr. Dutt proposed. They got married the next June.

He was born June 4, 1931, in Tiffin to Jennie and Roller Dutt. He was a 1949 graduate of Columbian High School.

He received a bachelor of arts degree in 1953 from what is now Heidelberg University and was a member of the Heidelberg Society. He received a master's degree in 1957 and a specialist in education degree in 1967 from Bowling Green State University.

He was a member of St. Paul's Methodist Church, Tiffin, and was a former member of the church board.

In the 1960s, he was honored as an outstanding young man in Tiffin by the local Junior Chamber of Commerce. He was a member of Tiffin Lodge, F&AM, and Zenobia Shrine. He was a member of the Tiffin Elks Lodge. He also belonged to the county's first families organization, as a descendant of Frederick Roller, who arrived in 1845.

He liked to bowl and golf and was a former president of the Mohawk Golf Club.

Surviving are his wife, Janet Dutt; son, Laurence Dutt, and daughter, Laura Marsh.

A celebration of life is scheduled for 2-4 p.m. Nov. 2 in AMVETS Post 48 in Tiffin. Arrangements are by the Hoffmann-Gottfried-Mack Funeral Home, Tiffin. The family suggests tributes to the Ohio Parkinson Foundation Northwest Region in Oak Harbor, Ohio, or to a charity of the donor's choice.

Contact Mark Zaborney at: mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.