MATTOON, IL – Clara L. Hutchison, age 93 of Mattoon and formerly of Charleston, passed away on Friday, March 15, 2019 at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center. Visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, 2019 at Adams Funeral Chapel in Charleston. The Funeral Service, honoring and celebrating her life will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, with Pastors Virgil Cisney and Tom Skinner officiating; and, Auxiliary Services to be conducted by the Charleston VFW Auxiliary. Interment will follow in Roselawn Cemetery, Charleston. It is requested that donations in her honor be made to the Charleston VFW Auxiliary or the Mattoon Lions Club. Gifts may be left at the visitation/service or mailed in care of Adams Funeral Chapel, 2330 Shawnee Dr., Charleston, IL 61920.
Clara was born November 29, 1925 in Indianola, Illinois, one of 13 children born to the late Harrison Franklin and Nellie Jeanette (Smith) Prunkard. She became the wife of Jean R. Hutchison on August 23, 1942 in Newark, New Jersey. They celebrated nearly 59 years of marriage prior to his death on August 2, 2001. Those remaining to cherish their many loving memories are a son, Michael Allen Hutchison and Pat of Tuscola, Illinois; four grandchildren, Mark Hutchison and Stacie of Champaign, Illinois, Kama Senn and Cliff of Charleston, Illinois, Andrew Hutchison and Andrea of Lerna, Illinois, and Joseph Hutchison and Amanda of Mattoon; 21 great-grandchildren; 2 great-great-grandchildren; and many beloved nieces and nephews and their families. Clara was also preceded in death by a son, Stanley Robert Hutchison, a great-grandchild; seven sisters, Delora Baird, Helen Polakes, Bertha Peer, Mildred Drotos, N. Arlina Hurst, Hazel Prunkard and Frances Cook; and five brothers, B. Harrison Prunkard, C. Franklin Prunkard, Connie E. Prunkard, Charles E.Prunkard, and Paul E. Prunkard.
Clara was employed as a cook at Eastern Illinois University for 25 years. She was a woman of faith being baptized and attending services at First Christian Church in Charleston. Clara was actively involved and a life member of the Charleston VFW Auxiliary and following the death of her son, Stanley Robert Hutchison who was killed in Vietnam, she proudly wore the pin of a Gold Star Mother, in his honor. Clara was also a member of the Women of the Moose, Charleston Chapter 1175.
Clara was a marvelous cook and truly enjoyed her working years at EIU. Her hands were never idle and if she wasn’t in the kitchen she could be found in her flower or vegetable garden or delving into family history. Clara was a photo buff and the family historian and keeper of the genealogy records. A special closet was built just to house her many photo albums, binders and notebooks. Clara’s life was truly lived and centered round her family – they were her one true joy. In the words of her family - “Clara was a treasured matriarch of our family. Once you were in her heart – blood or not – you were family forever”. Those, who were the recipients of Clara’s unconditional love, will always treasure their many wonderful memories of special times shared.
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