Jamie Tuttle

Jamie Pierce Tuttle, age 58, of Evanston, Illinois passed away on September 15, 2020 after a courageous battle with cancer. Loving wife to Paul Williams and adoring mother of Sofia Louise Tuttle Williams, Jamie was preceded in death by her beloved parents Shirley and Pierce Tuttle and cherished sister, Carrie Tuttle. Jamie was the dear sister of Jennifer Tuttle, Abby Dix and Gail Easterly (James), wonderful stepmother to Jake (Morgan Whitcomb) and Emi Williams, amazing aunt to John (Yuki) and Michael Dix, Aaron (Aily Kusmanto), Michael and Will Preman (Kate Clements), Kelsey and Claire Easterly, also fun-loving grandmother/great aunt to Jude, Adrian and Emily.

Jamie and Paul had a loving bond and were married for seventeen beautiful, adventure filled years. Their union was blessed with a daughter, and there was no greater joy to Jamie than when Sofia Louise entered this world. Jamie's light shined so brightly and continues to radiate in her dear, sweet Sofia. Everyone who knew Jamie loved her. She had a special gift for connecting with people, whether it was family, a lifelong friend, or a first encounter. She had a way of putting people at ease and making them feel welcome. Jamie had an infectious laugh, a joie de' vivre, and an acute awareness of the surrounding world that enabled her to see beauty in the simple and mundane elements of life. She was a true artist. Her art inspired her life and her life inspired her art.

In Jamie's own words she grew up in a ""magical place"" surrounded by the woods of the Chipilly Forest Preserve and bordered by the Middle Fork North Branch of the Chicago River. There was an untamed wildness that remained in the landscape, sparking a sense of wonder and adventure in Jamie. Her love for the natural world and its beauty took root and was later reflected in the images she created as an artist. Jamie and her dear sister Carrie (15 months apart) were inseparable growing up. They both pursued education and careers in the arts, attended the same colleges, traveled in Italy together, and lived near or with each other until Carrie passed away at 40. They are now reunited in a new ""magical place.""

Jamie fell in love with photography at an early age and was greatly influenced by her high school teacher, David Currie, who sowed the seeds for her own teaching career. Jamie followed her passion for photography to the Kansas City Art Institute where she received her BFA. This led her to a study abroad program at SACI College of Art and Design in Florence, Italy where she fell in love with a culture and its people. She returned to Italy many times over the next four decades, to live, photograph and travel, which influenced her professionally and personally, in her love of art, landscape, food and people.

Jamie continued her education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where she received an MFA in Photography. She primarily photographed landscapes where something or someone lived, and the intimacy of place and the ephemeral were two enduring themes in her work. Jamie used an 8×10 view camera with black and white film and wet plate collodion, a 19th century process which requires the artist to coat their own plates that become the medium for the images. She described the process as ""gratifying, slowing time and heightening experience.""

Jamie's work was exhibited in both solo and group shows throughout her career including the Dolphin and Unit 5 Gallery; Photospiva - Spiva Art Center; The Liverpool International Photography Festival, Thinking Photography: Five Decades at the Kansas City Art Institute, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; Time in: Refocusing the Lens of Motherhood – Elder Gallery, Nebraska Wesleyan University; Filter Photo: Context 2018; LENS 2020 - Perspective Gallery; Evanston Art Center. Jamie's photographs are also in many permanent collections including Bibliotheque Nationale de France; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; Sprint Corporation Headquarters; University of Kansas Medical Center. In October of 2019 she was a featured artist in the Lenscratch Fine Art Photography publication for her Summer Plates series. Click here to view .

In addition to her work as an artist, Jamie was a beloved educator and colleague at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart where she taught and inspired students for 30 years. Her gift for connecting with people, made her a natural as a teacher, and she relished the opportunity to interact with, influence, and shape the lives of her students as they grew to be young women.

Jamie, Paul and Sofia, always felt so fortunate to have the loving energy of her sister, Jennifer, in their lives. Her kindness, caring, compassion, and humor has been even more incredible during Jamie's three-year battle with cancer. She gave completely of herself to come live in their home during Jamie's toughest struggles, doing everything possible to restore Jamie's health and improve the quality of life for their family. Jamie cherished her devoted sister, and Paul and Sofia continue to hold her dear. We are also grateful for the incredible love and support that poured in from our amazing family and friends throughout Jamie's illness and since her passing. We feel so blessed to be surrounded with such kindness in these difficult times.


A private family service will be held this fall, followed by a celebration of Jamie's life in summer of 2021.

In lieu of flowers, the family is establishing the Jamie Tuttle Photography Fellowship at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

To contribute, please visit saic.edu/give and note that your gift is in memory of Jamie Tuttle.

Info: www.donnellanfuneral.com or (847) 675-1990