If you ever met Suttie âSunnyâ Economy, he probably offered you a stick of Juicy Fruit.
His daughter, Della Economy-Bryant, said he received the chewing gum in his C-rations during World War II. After the war, he was known in Roanoke for giving sticks of his beloved chew to just about everyone who crossed his path.
âHe said if he ever made it back home he would give people something every day of his life. That was Juicy Fruit gum,â she said.
Economy, a veterans advocate and former restaurateur, died on Friday at 95.
Economy was drafted into the U.S. Navy in 1944. He served on the USS English DD-696. Economy-Bryant said her father saw a lot of action while stationed in the South Pacific, and it stayed with him. Thatâs why he felt so strongly that veterans deserved to be honored and remembered.