» DMN: Obituary: Richard Towne 'Dick' Sutcliffe

Richard Towne "Dick" Sutcliffe had the inspiration for the stop-action animated children's television show Davey and Goliath.

Working with the creators of the animated Gumby show, Mr. Sutcliffe led his team to develop a Sunday morning series that offered a simple message of faith "without being preachy."

In 2004, nearly 45 years after the first episode aired, Mr. Sutcliffe and his team received the Luther Institute's Wittenberg Award for outstanding service to church and society.

Mr. Sutcliffe, 90, died May 11 at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas of complications from a stroke.

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. May 31 in the chapel at St. Mark's School of Texas.

I'm not sure when & where I first stumbled onto these shows as a kid. But then again, I also don't remember ever changing a channel when it was on.