AMHERST - Hugh Oliver Denton passed away on Feb. 26, 2010, in the Center for Extended Care in Amherst.

He was born on July 11, 1927, in Kansas City, Mo., to Cecil T. Denton and Loraine J. Denton (the first of their three children). The family moved to California and settled in Santa Barbara, Calif.

He was a precocious student and only because of his mother's opposition was not allowed to skip two grades while in elementary school. He was a voracious reader during all except the last few years of his life and learned to play bridge well enough to more than pay his college tuition. After graduation from U. C. Santa Barbara he moved to Los Angeles, Calif., where he became the first African-American to be employed as a teller by the Bank of America. But this did not suit him so he found other employment, which ended with his becoming a senior buyer at the Lockheed Aircraft Co.'s Burbank, Calif., location, where he remained until his retirement in 1990. He also sang in the Los Angeles Camarata (making three European tours with them, one of which he managed). He suffered a stroke in 1996 which left him unable to continue living alone, so he came to live with us here in Amherst until he needed more care than we could provide him in our home.

He is survived by his brother, James Denton of Amherst; a niece, Jennifer Denton of Boston; and two nephews, Donald Primous of Santa Barbara, Calif., and Daniel Denton-Thompson of Amherst.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 13, at 10 a.m. at the Douglass Funeral Service, Amherst. Obituary and register at www.douglassfuneral.com.