Beverly Hutton

Beverly Hutton died peacefully at home on Wednesday, September 9, 2020, with family by her side.

She is survived by her loving husband of 58 years, Jim, and her four children: Joe Hutton (Donna) of Vancouver, Washington, Mike Hutton (Mary) of Valparaiso, Melissa Buynak (Bob) of Valparaiso and Tony Hutton of Indianapolis and her 11 grandchildren, Courtney, Evan, Madeline, Katie, Ann Marie, Sara, Ethan, Max, Alessandra, Sam and Kendall and Helena Hutton, who is Alessandra, Sam and Kendall's mother.

She is preceded in death by her brother Jim Drohan, her sister Connie Dent and her brother Mark Drohan, her mother Gertrude and her father Albert.

She was born in 1938 in Gary, graduating from Edison High School, where she was salutatorian of her class. Bev worked at the Post-Tribune in bookkeeping for several years after high school. She met Jim at a Catholic youth service mixer, introducing herself and asking him to play pinochle in 1960.

Apparently, that's all it took.

They were married in 1962. By 1970, they were a family of six that had settled in Valparaiso. While Jim was busy running the Northwest Indiana office of George S. Olive, an accounting firm, Bev was home tending to her energetic, sometimes rambunctious and always spirited kids, a job that she took seriously but not too seriously.

Bev was generous, big-hearted, stubborn, funny, principled and fiercely devoted to her family. In fact, she could be all of that in one breath.

She was a world-class cook, who would make an elaborate pink shoebox cake for your birthday if you asked. Christmas was her personal holiday, and it's true that she contributed generously to David Shurr's retirement after her many buying sprees at "David's Men's Clothier" in Valparaiso.

She loved watching sports with her family, and one of the best days of her life was when the White Sox won the World Series in 2005. She was always up for a game of pinochle or bridge.

A woman of deep faith, Bev started the funeral lunch program at St. Paul's Church and she volunteered for just about everything at St. Paul's school when her kids were there.

After the children left the house, Bev started working at "Seasons on the Square," a clothing shop in Valparaiso. Later, she worked at Marc T. Nielsen Interiors Antique Shop as a bookkeeper.

She fought hard the last 15 years with the loving of support of Jim against a variety of health issues that included spinal stenosis, which required four back surgeries, diabetes and pulmonary hypertension. She also survived two bouts with cancer.

For any normal person, it would've been too much to bear but Bev wasn't normal.

She was rawhide tough, and she pushed back with every breath to the very end.

We can all celebrate her grand entrance into heaven now, where she'll certainly meet up with her family, play some pinochle, make some cream puffs for her brother Mark and relax, free of pain while she waits for the rest of her brood to join her.

A memorial celebration of Bev's life will be held at St. Paul's at 1855 Harrison Blvd., Valparaiso, IN on Tuesday, September 15. Friends and family are invited to attend a 9 a.m. visitation, followed by a 10 a.m. mass which will also be streamed on the parish website. Rev. Douglas Mayer and Rev. Joseph Pawlowski will be con-celebrating. Interment will be at St. Paul's cemetery after mass. A luncheon will be held at Jim's house. These events will be set up to ensure social distancing is practiced to keep everyone safe and we will have masks and hand sanitizer available to everyone. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to St. Paul's School.

Arrangements by Dykes Funeral Home, Inc. (219)-462-3125