Hutchinson, Claire W. - 1922-2011

BALTISBERGER, BEHLING, DODD, HUTCHINSON, KINNAIRD, NEVILLE, PULS, ROBISON, SAUNDERS, VOGELER

Posted By: Diana Wagner
Date: 9/6/2024 at 13:21:56

Claire W. Hutchison, 89, of Grinnell died December 8, 2011, at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines.
Funeral services are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday, December 12, at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell with Pastor Bonnie K. Koeppen, Malcom Methodist Church, officiating. Organist will be Denise Baustian. Pallbearers will be Matthew Puls, Marc and Michael Hutchison, Scott Saunders, Gerald Baltisberger, and Joe Neville. Honorary bearers will be Lori Vogeler, Terri Behling, Kristi Saunders, Amy Dodd, Addy Hutchison and Jennifer Puls. Burial will be in Ivy Hill Cemetery in Malcom. Visitation will be held from 12:00 noon to 7:00 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home with the family present from 4:00 to 6:00 Sunday afternoon.
Claire was born February 20, 1922, on the family farm near Malcom, the son of Cooper James and Ina Neville Hutchison. He was raised on the farm and was a 1939 graduate of Grinnell High School. On March 13, 1943, he was united in marriage to Rosemary Robison, in Lancaster, Missouri. The couple farmed in the Poweshiek County area for many years and Claire also was employed as a rural mail carrier. They moved to Seeland Park in Grinnell in 1995.
Claire was a life-long member of the Malcom United Methodist Church where he was active with all aspects of the church including superintendent of the Sunday school program. He was also a member of the Grinnell Elks Lodge and Farm Bureau, a former chairman of the Malcom Co-op Board, and was a former 4-H leader.
He held a passion for farming and was a steward of the land. He believed in leaving things better than he found them. He was a voracious reader, held a high mechanical aptitude and enjoyed restoring tractors and fixing things. He held a great love for his family and enjoyed sharing his time together with them. For 75 continuous years he attended his family reunion in northern Iowa.
Survivors include his wife Rosemary of Grinnell; five children, Pam (Earl) Kinnaird of Grinnell, David (Rebecca) Hutchison of Marshalltown, Jo Anne (Joe ) Puls of Montezuma, James Hutchison of Maryville, Tennessee, and John Hutchison of Rock Island, Illinois; nine grandchildren, Lori (Brett) Vogeler, Terri (Chris) Behling, Kristi (Scott) Saunders, Amy Dodd, Addy Hutchison, Marc Hutchison, Michael Hutchison, Matthew (Jodi) Puls, and Jennifer Puls; and eleven great-grandchildren, Allie, Marissa, Cora, Jenna, Jack, Samatha, Alex, Carter, Dani, Cooper, and Sophia.
He was preceded in death by his parents and one sister, Gladys Baltisberger.
Published in Des Moines (IA) Register; Saturday, December 10, 2011, page 5B