Richard Hutchins

Richard R. Hutchins 21 August 1935 – 19 April 2016 Richard Roy Hutchins, originally from Malone, New York, and most recently of Chicago, Illinois, died near Pendleton, Oregon, on April 19, 2016, while on a motorcycle trip visiting family and friends. Cause of death was determined to be a heart attack. He was 80 years old. Mr. Hutchins was the son of Arthur Hutchins and Dorothy (Hastings) Hutchins of Constable and Malone. He graduated from Franklin Academy in 1953 where he was lettered in track and football and played the valve trombone in marching band. After graduation, he studied physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for two years before enlisting in the U.S. Army. From 1955-1957 he was a radar operator in the Artillery, stationed at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. Upon discharge, he was employed for several years as applications engineer with the industrial conveyor division of Lamson Corporation in Syracuse, New York. In 1965, he took a job managing a branch office of another conveyor company in California. In 1973 he married Susan Bitzer and they moved to Lake Oswego, Oregon, where Richard started his own business rehabbing older houses. They were divorced in 1984. He took an active interest in community and civic affairs of Lake Oswego and was elected to the City Council. During the recession of the mid-1980s, with the housing market faltering, Richard accepted a position as Production Manager with Amsler Corporation, his brother-in-law’s new packaging machinery company in McHenry, Illinois. When Amsler Corporation was purchased by Arpac Corporation in 1990, Richard was named Materials Manager at Arpac. He retired from Arpac on January 8, 2008. Richard was a caring and generous person, devoted to his family and friends. He loved life and lived it fully. An enthusiastic motorcyclist, he made several trips throughout the West and the Rocky Mountains with his friend Chris Hefner of New Mexico. He was a licensed pilot and flew his own plane over most of the United States. An excellent marksman, he enjoyed shooting competitions and, although he often went on hunting trips, he wasn’t too serious about actually hunting. He liked fishing and lately had taken up fly fishing under the tutellage of Jacek Skalski, his friend and former coworker at Arpac. He loved opera and classical music and was an avid reader and very competitive Scrabble player. He spoke both French and Spanish and traveled widely, at home everywhere he went. Mr. Hutchins was predeceased by his father in 1938, his mother in 1980, and brother Putnam in 1956. He is survived by long-time partner and friend, Patricia Stern of Chicago and her son Eric, daughter Alicia and granddaughter Iliana; daughter Amy Bitzer Vance of Bellingham, Washington; sister Evelyn Amsler of Franklinville, New York; brother John Hutchins of Lake Worth, Florida; and many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews, and one great-great niece. A memorial service is scheduled for 1:00 PM on Saturday, August 20, 2016, at the First Unitarian Church of Chicago, 5650 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60637.