Louis Ward Hutchison, Sr.

Born December 12, 1934, in Atlanta, GA to Clarence and Marion Hutchison, Louis Ward (“Hutch”) Hutchison exhibited the energetic and inquisitive nature that he would display throughout his life. Before he could walk, Louis picked up the family nickname, “Scooter”, when he could crawl almost as fast as his mother could walk, finding any open door an invitation to explore his neighbors’ apartments. Being the child of artistic and musical parents (Marion was a professional ballerina and later owned her own dance school, while Clarence was a professional trumpet player during the Big Band period), Scooter developed his musical talents throughout high school, as well as playing football for his school’s team.

Following his high school graduation, Louis entered the Army in 1953 where he played the flute and piccolo in the 3rd Army Band. As part of his training, Hutch completed six months of study at the Navy School of Music in Washington, D.C. It was during his time based at Ft. MacPherson in Atlanta, that he picked up his ‘adult’ nickname, Hutch and, more importantly, was introduced to Dolores (Dee) McGuire by mutual friends.

Many family gatherings would hear the humorous recounting of how Dee walked out of that first date and how Hutch had to chase her down. But the love they found stuck. Dee and Hutch were married on July 30, 1955 in Atlanta and remained in love for sixty-one years until Dee’s death in September of 2016.

A ‘jack of all trades’, and a master of some, Hutch worked in a variety of positions, in plant and warehouse management, project management and sales. He also had an entrepreneurial side, starting, among other ventures, a janitorial company, a home construction company and with Dee and two other partners opening a health food store, Nature’s Harvest, for several years during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Later in life, Hutch and Dee began Delight’s Etc, an online gift catalog and retailer.

Hutch and Dee  made several moves with the family from Atlanta, to such cities and towns as Winder, GA; Dallas, TX; Jacksonville and Palm Coast, Florida and finally in 2004, Dee and Hutch made another migration west to the Denver area, settling first in Lone Tree and finally in Parker, CO. Hutch noticed periodically, with both humor and satisfaction, that with two short exceptions, he and Dee had always lived within 10 minutes from his eldest son, Lou and his wife and daughter.

Hutch experienced spiritual renewal in the early 70’s, strengthening his faith in God and belief in the power of prayer and eventually leading him to be ordained as a pastor. During his life, Hutch was active in his sons’ education and extracurricular activities, his various church communities, and multiple volunteer organizations (frequently including leadership roles).

Hutch passed on March 19, 2018 at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, CO from infection and complications from Lewy Body Dementia.

Preceded in death by his mother, Marion and his father, Clarence Hutchison and his wife, Dee;  he is survived by his son, Louis Hutchison Jr and his wife, Tanis, as well as their daughter, Erin Dilley and Hutch’s great-granddaughters, Kaylea Dilley and Maysen Dilley; his son, Jeffrey Hutchison and his wife, Meredith, as well as their daughters Alison, Ashley and Cecily; his son, Keith Hutchison and his wife, Troy, as well as Keith’s son’s Chad and Chris and daughter Pepper.

A private family service during the interment at Ft. Logan National Cemetery will be held Tuesday morning, April 3, 2018. A Memorial Service and Celebration of Life will take place at 1:30 pm also on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at Vehicle Vault, 18301 Lincoln Meadows Parkway, Parker CO 80134 and is open to family and friends.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to:

Parker and Elizabeth Funeral Homes & Crematory, LLC

10325 Parkglenn Way

Parker, CO 80138

As Ft. Logan has restrictions on the amount of floral arrangements allowed, the family strongly requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Louis’ name to Lewy Body Dementia Association - https://www.lbda.org or, for more information, see LBDA’s ranking on Charity Navigator at https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=16852

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