Hutchison, Pauline C. 1923-2011

HUTCHISON, DECKER, HOLBRINK, EICHNER, GREEN, OLSON, DOTOR, EUBANK, FLEMING, VANDENBERG

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 1/12/2019 at 18:43:34

Pauline C. Hutchison
1923 - 2011
Des Moines

Pauline Cecelia "Polly" Hutchison, 88, died on Monday, March 28, 2011 at Iowa Methodist Medical Center. She was born on January 6, 1923 in Pittsburgh, PA to Cecelia Griffen Decker and John Paul Decker.

Polly grew up in Des Moines and in Anamosa, Iowa, where she graduated from high school in 1940. After high school, she married Robert Coen, who died just a few months later when his B-24 Liberator aircraft went down in WWII. During the war, she followed her parents to Washington, D.C., where Polly worked for General George C. Marshall.

Known for her dry wit and quick mind, she attended the University of Iowa, graduating with a master's degree in journalism. It was there that she met William Butler Hutchison, a WWII bomber pilot just home from the war. They were married in high fashion on New Year's Eve, 1946, in Hollywood, California.

War torn and ready for life, they enjoyed their early years together in Iowa City, having two of their three children there while working and finishing college degrees. They settled in Windsor Heights, where they had a third child and where they attracted a community of family and friends to a home of education, literature, and classical music.

Over the course of nearly nine decades, Polly blossomed. She was a sophisticate, an epicure, an erudite. After working for the war department, she sold promotions for Ladies' Home Journal and Better Homes and Gardens magazines. She went on to a career in national product placement with department stores and then finally in real estate.

She loved fashion and was known for her style and grace. She was the consummate hostess, serving great food and "drink-em-ades" to her large cadre of close friends. She was well versed in many subjects, with a penchant for antiques and historic preservation. As a child of the Great Depression, she always loved a bargain, and she took great joy in carting her grandchildren to garage sales and antique auctions.

She is survived by her husband of 65 years, William Butler Hutchison; daughter, Vivian (Paul) Wolbrink of Spring Lake, MI; son, Douglas (Eileen) Hutchison of Des Moines; daughter-in-law, Mary (Jerry) Eichner of Seattle, WA; cousin, Bud (Lois) Green; brother-in-law, Jack Olson; sister-in-law, Elizabeth Dotor; nine grandchildren: Rachel (Zach) Eubank, Rebecca (Tyler) Fleming, Hannah, Helen, Graham, Craig (Lisa), Erika and Kathryn Hutchison, and Shelley (Jeff) Vandenberg; three great-grandchildren: Avery, Evelyn and Polly; and four nephews and two nieces.

Polly was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Richard; sister, Vivian Katherine; son, William; grand-dog, Lydia; and many dear friends.

A service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 2, at Iles Funeral Homes - Dunn's Chapel in Des Moines. Memorial contributions may be made to either the Terrace Hill Foundation or the Des Moines Symphony. ~ The Des Moines (IA) Register 01 April 2011.