Deral Tuttle

TUTTLE - Mr. Deral "Jeff" Tuttle aged 79 passed away Tuesday, March 8, 2016. Jeff was born in Houghton Lake, Michigan and grew up in Ionia. He and his three siblings were very close in age, the oldest, Onalee, born in May of 1934 and the youngest, Eric, born in June of 1938. At the age of 17, Jeff joined the United States Navy to "see the world." The following year, he and his brothers were featured in the Ionia Sentinel-Standard, because all three were serving simultaneously in the Navy. While stationed in Long Beach, California, Jeff met Jeannie Cox, whom he married in 1958. The couple soon moved to Michigan and went on to raise four children. They were married for 54 years. After serving his four year hitch, Jeff worked for a few years at Fisher Body, a division of General Motors. Having an entrepreneurial spirit, in the early 1960's, Jeff formed King Tut's Pizza in Grand Rapids with his brothers, Theron and Eric, and later launched Northland Pizza in Kentwood and Big Rapids, with his partner, Cal Zimmerman. In the mid-1970's, Jeff and Jeannie owned and operated J & J's Pizza on the North end of Grand Rapids. The last chapter of his working career, Jeff was part of a crew that hanged dry wall. In retirement, Jeff and Jeannie parked their 5th wheel in Yuma, Arizona, the sunniest place in all the world! They enjoyed wintering there for a number of years, and formed lasting friendships with a number of folks from different parts of the country who wintered in Riverfront RV Park. In addition to his wife, Jeannie, and her cooking, Jeff's passions included sports, Country / Western Music, politics, and debate! In his younger days, Jeff drag raced and bowled, but his favorite hobby and pastime was golf. He enjoyed a good "discussion," and passed on his love of University of Michigan Football, Tiger Baseball, and Classic Country Music-- George Jones, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Marty Robbins-- to his children. Jeff was preceded in death by his wife, Jeannie; parents, Howard and Iola Tuttle; sister, Onalee Hancock, brother, Theron Tuttle. Surviving are his children, D.J. (Sandra) Tuttle, Spencer Tuttle, Wade Tuttle, Julie (Rick) Guyott; 6 grandchildren; brother, Eric Tuttle, along with several nieces and nephews. Memorial services will be held 11:00 AM Saturday, March 19, 2016 at Stegenga Funeral Chapel - Belmont, 1601 Post Dr. NE. His family will greet relatives and friends one hour prior to the service To share a photo, memory and sign the family's online guestbook please visit www.stegengafuneralchapel.com. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Deral J. Tuttle please visit our Sympathy Store.