Ryan Lee Hutchens

Ryan Lee Hutchens

August 11, 1986 May 29, 2004

Services: Friday, June 4, 2 p.m.

Ryan Lee Hutchens was born in the Philippines on August 11, 1986 and has lived in Tennessee, Texas and most recently in Bakersfield. He was a graduating senior at Centennial High School. There he participated in track and field and coached youth football and basketball through the Cities Park & Recreation Dept. As a teenager his passions were sports, NASCAR, music and comedy. He had a wonderful sense of humor, which allowed him to laugh with his elders and peers. The military has always been a part of Ryans life. He started his life on a base in the Philippines and dreamed of serving his country and being a history teacher. He was 17 when he died on May 29, 2004.

His father and mother, Gavin and Melissa, and sister, Lauren, and his extended family have found comfort in remembering Ryan as a kind and gentle young man with a tender heart. Family members can recall the caring times of comfort to others. He soothed his trembling sister during a particularly violent storm in Tennessee; pointed to the North Star to show his young cousin where her infant brother rested and awoke just long enough to shine a good night; and his many calls to Grandma for a movie or share in a wee bit of gossip. In Ryans younger days, he wasnt bashful about getting down on the floor and sharing his boyhood collections of Ninja Turtles and military miniatures with younger family. Even as a teenager he never lost his patience with his young cousins whether it was playing basketball and tether-ball for hours on end, endless games of Yahtzee and X-Box or hiking the back country in Yosemite. Ryans now peaceful soul has generously touched the hearts of his family and friends and will forever continue to be our second shinning star.

He is survived by his parents, Gavin and Melissa Hutchens; his sister, Lauren; his grandparents, Leland J. and Edda Dalby, Norman and Carolyn Ann Econrode, Charles and Elly Hutchens; his great-grandparents, Leland H. Dalby, Mary Rogers, William and Virge Perelli-Minetti; his aunts and uncles, Page and Mercy Dalby, Lee and Susan Rapp. Ryans quick wit, conversations, and smile will be remembered by several loving generations.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Youth Development International Headquarters, P.O. Box 178408, San Diego, CA 92177.

Services will be held Friday, June 4, in the Hillcrest Memorial Chapel, at 2:00 p.m.