Dr. Harold C. Hutchinson

1932 - 2021

Dr. Harold C. Hutchinson Jr.

Born: August 2, 1932

Died: February 27, 2021

Hutch, as Harold liked to be called, was an innovative person from an early age. In fifth grade, he and friend Nelson Peters started the Inventors' Club. They fashioned a device they called the "Teacher Detector" so they could nap during class. Hutch and Nelson would later go on to buy, and fully restore, a 1926 Model T during high school and college.

Harold, the only child of Harold C. Hutchinson, Sr. and F. Eloise Hutchinson (neé Scranton), was born in Tiskilwa, Illinois at the home of his grandparents, Floyd and Kate Hutchinson. He was raised in Evanston, Illinois, and he graduated from Evanston High School in 1950. He completed two years of undergraduate education at Northwestern University before being accepted for early admission to the Northwestern University Dental School. Harold was the third generation of his family to graduate from Northwestern Dental School, following in the footsteps of his father, two grandfathers, and an uncle. After graduation in 1956, he entered the U.S. Air Force as a captain, where he served as a dentist in charge of a mobile dental van, treating enlisted men and women in the northeastern U.S. and Canada.

He returned to Evanston in 1958, where he joined his father in private practice. In 1965, they moved their practice to Princeton, Illinois. Hutch took much pleasure in treating some of the same patients his grandfather, Floyd, had treated years before in Tiskilwa. He retired from dentistry in 1994.

He met his wife, Jeanne L. Smith, while both were working part-time at the Evanston Review newspaper during college. They were married on July 15, 1956 in Beverly Shores, Indiana.

Harold is survived by Jeanne and his two children, Janice English (and her husband, Michael English) of Princeton, Illinois and John Hutchinson of Albany, New York, as well as two grandchildren, Matt Jennings and Hannah Hutchinson.

Harold served the community of Princeton through involvement with First Presbyterian Church, the Foundation Board of Perry Memorial Hospital, Citizens First National Bank Board, and he served as a charter member of the Optimists' Club. He was also a member of other local organizations. In earlier years, he could be found tending the roses or blueberry bushes in his yard. He also enjoyed building clocks and fixing almost anything.

A private graveside service will take place at Mount Bloom Cemetery, Tiskilwa. A Memorial Service is being planned for later in the year.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Harold's memory to the Princeton Public Library or Greenfield Retirement Home, Princeton, Illinois.

The family of Harold would like to thank Heritage Healthcare of Walnut and Vitas Healthcare for their compassionate care.

Online condolences and memorials may be left at www.norbergfh.com

Arrangements by Norberg Memorial Home, Inc. & Monuments.