William Houston “Bill” Tuten, 87, of Palatka, passed away on Friday, June 3, 2016 at Crestwood Nursing Center following a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease. An only child, Bill was born in 1928 in Deland, Florida to David Bell Tuten and Ruth Houston Tuten. Bill graduated with his Bachelor’s Degree from Stetson University in Deland in 1950 and came to Palatka in the fall of 1950 to coach Basketball and teach science at Mellon High School. In December, Bill joined the U.S. Navy and served 2 years in the Korean War. In 1951 while he was still in the service, he married Joann Waits and following his honorable discharge from the Navy, they moved to Deland where he began working on his Master’s Degree at Stetson. Bill and his family moved back to Palatka in 1956 where he was hired by the City of Palatka to serve as recreation director and operator and director of the Civic Center. In August of 1958, Bill took on a dual-roll, continuing his job as Recreation Director and then went to work part-time for St. Johns River Junior College which was in the early stages of its’ beginning and needed someone to organize it’s athletic programs. Bill would remain at St. Johns, retiring in December 1993 from his position as athletic director for which he had served for 35 years. During his tenure with St. Johns, Bill coached almost every sport offered there, perhaps most memorable was his 1967 basketball team which made the NJCAA Tournament and the 1968 golf team that finished 3rd in the nation. His impact on athletics reached far beyond St. Johns as he was highly regarded within the state athletic associations upon which he had earned tremendous respect. He served as the first commissioner of athletics for the Florida Community College Athletic Association (FCCA) and continued to serve there for 24 years. In 1993, he was inducted into the FCCA Hall of Fame, in 1994 the National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame and in 1991, the Florida Community College Basketball Hall of Fame. Bill had likewise been a high school football official for 22 years, a high school and college basketball official for 22 years and in 1977 was inducted into the Central Florida Officials Association Hall of Fame. He was also selected to serve on a NCAA national committee for the 1972 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. In 1993, St. Johns River Community College named its’ gymnasium, “Tuten Gym” in honor of Bill’s legendary career in athletics and longstanding service to the college.
After retiring from St. Johns, Bill wasted no time in staying active and in February of 1994 began serving as the Director of the Senior Programs located at Central Florida Community College in Ocala, a position he would hold until May 2000. He later served on the board of directors of the Palatka-Putnam County Senior Citizens, Inc. (Edgar Johnson Senior Center). Bill was also a dedicated member of the First Presbyterian Church in Palatka where he served as an elder.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a son, Tom Tuten.
Bill is survived by his wife of 64 years, Joanne W. Tuten of Palatka, a daughter, Sandy Robbins of Fort Lauderdale, 2 sons, Billy Tuten (Holly) of Sugarland, TX and Jon Tuten of Palatka, 4 grandchildren, Matthew Robbins of Sanford and Mary Beth Robbins of Ft. Lauderdale, Blakely Tuten of Nashville, TN and Will Tuten of Sugarland, TX, 3 great-grandsons, Carter, Camren and Cayleb “William”, a sister-in-law, Penny Bellas (Lew) of St. Augustine and numerous nieces and nephews.
Memorial services celebrating Bill’s life will be at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, June 18, 2016 at Johnson-Overturf Chapel in Palatka with C.L. Overturf, Jr. officiating.
In lieu of flowers, it was Bill’s request that memorial donations be sent to the Humane Society of Northeast Florida, P.O. Box 188, Hollister, FL 32147 or to the First Presbyterian Church, 123 S. 2nd St, Palatka, FL 32177.
Memories and condolences may be expressed to the family at Bill’s Book of Memories page at www.JohnsonOverturffunerals.com.
Arrangements are under the direction of Johnson-Overturf Funeral Home in Palatka.