Wynne Harrison Hutchings
August 3, 1929 ~ December 14, 2015.
Monterey, CA
Wynne Harrison Hutchings
August 3, 1929 ~ December 14, 2015.
Monterey, CA
By Larry Angier
Wynne Harrison Hutchings was born in Dallas, Texas, August 3, 1929 to Dr. Rome C. Hutchings, DVM and Mabelle Lillian Howell. He was welcomed into the world by his fraternal grandparents Thomas H. Hutchings and Ione Clark Stubbs and maternal grandparents Clarence and Catherine Howell. In 1939 his family moved to California where his father worked for the Federal Department of Agriculture. During that time they settled on the Monterey Peninsula and Wynne began his long life in the Monterey Bay Area. He graduated from Carmel High School in 1948 and one of his classmates, Sheila Whitaker became his bride and for 68 years has been his loving companion until his passing on December 14, 2015.
In 1950 Wynne and his wife founded Monterey Bay Pest Control and successfully ran the first domestic pest extermination business in the area. He was also involved with the fumigation of commodities for export to Japan as a part of the Monterey Bay Pest Control. And he is well known throughout the California area for the workshops he taught on pest control. The business is now owned and operated by his daughter Virginia Courtney.
Although, as a business owner and family man, he was not eligible for the draft, he did do his part by becoming a member of the Civil Air Patrol and served in that capacity for several years. His expertise as a pilot was well placed as a CAP member. In his service he felt confident that he was helping his country at home and in the process protecting his family and his community.
As a father, Boy Scouts of America and scouting in general, became important to him and his three sons, Rome, Thomas, Todd and daughter Virginia. After their years as scouts Wynne continued as a volunteer and was the Assistant Scout Leader, Level One at Camp Pico Blanco and thus he helped raise a generation or two of scouts. He and his wife were also members of White Stag Leadership Development.
Although pest control was his living, his true love and passion was photography which began for him as a small child while visiting his grandfather Thomas Hutchings, a portrait photographer in Los Angeles. Here he learned to work with glass plates and from that he went on to develop his own style of photography. At Monterey Peninsula College he met Al Weber who was to be his first mentor. Weber asked him to be the lab assistant at the college and then thru Weber he became a member of the newly formed Friends of Photography and continued that membership all of his life. It was thru this association with Weber that he met Ansel Adams and later became one of Adams' lab assistants at the Yosemite workshops. In true form he learned all he could from Adams and others that he has worked with thru the photography group. He embraced film in its black and white medium until he learned enough to go onto color processes and then finally the mysteries of digital photography. He was never one to shut the door on any new or interesting idea and his education continued up until his last day. But in the end he also had much to teach as well and always thought of himself as a teacher whether it be photography or pest control. He was included in the recent publication "In From the Light" by Nolan Preece, a collection of essays concerning photographers and their labs in the Bay Area.
At his passing he leaves behind his wife, Sheila and their children: Rome and wife Lori of Clearwater, MN; Thomas and wife Cynthia of Bishop, CA; Virginia Courtney and husband Jack of Marina, CA; Todd and wife LuAnne of Prunedale, CA. He was a proud grandfather and always acknowledged that fact by speaking in loving terms of his granddaughter Sheila Downing and husband Joshua of Salinas, CA; Jeremy Hutchings and wife Laura of Milwaukee, WI; Samantha Hutchings of South San Francisco, CA serving in the USMC, Joshua Hutchings of Alaska serving in the USAF, and Angela Marchica and husband Emmanuel of Prunedale, CA. He leaves two sisters, Ione Unruh of Lawrence, KS and Romanda Wilson of Kansas City, MO (deceased), four nieces, one nephew and ten great grandchildren.
Wynne was a good friend to many and this was returned to him a thousand fold. In the past few years his neighbors Harry Christensen, wife Tublai and "Good Neighbor" Steve Lowder, have been constant support to him and his family, as have his doctors John Bennett and Mike Galloway. With their help his last years and days were made comfortable and the family deeply appreciates them. Arrangements being made by Mission Mortuary.
There will be a private memorial for the family at this time, followed by a public memorial service in the spring of 2016, for all the many friends, associates and family that wish to be present to remember him. The family asks that in lieu of flowers a contribution in his name can be made to Community Human Services, P.O. Box 3076, Monterey, CA 93942. In his memory a tree may be planted and nurtured to keep his name in the flow of the universe.
- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/montereyherald/obituary.aspx?pid=176947288#sthash.khMfSFei.dpuf
Wynne Harrison Hutchings was born in Dallas, Texas, August 3, 1929 to Dr. Rome C. Hutchings, DVM and Mabelle Lillian Howell. He was welcomed into the world by his fraternal grandparents Thomas H. Hutchings and Ione Clark Stubbs and maternal grandparents Clarence and Catherine Howell. In 1939 his family moved to California where his father worked for the Federal Department of Agriculture. During that time they settled on the Monterey Peninsula and Wynne began his long life in the Monterey Bay Area. He graduated from Carmel High School in 1948 and one of his classmates, Sheila Whitaker became his bride and for 68 years has been his loving companion until his passing on December 14, 2015.
In 1950 Wynne and his wife founded Monterey Bay Pest Control and successfully ran the first domestic pest extermination business in the area. He was also involved with the fumigation of commodities for export to Japan as a part of the Monterey Bay Pest Control. And he is well known throughout the California area for the workshops he taught on pest control. The business is now owned and operated by his daughter Virginia Courtney.
Although, as a business owner and family man, he was not eligible for the draft, he did do his part by becoming a member of the Civil Air Patrol and served in that capacity for several years. His expertise as a pilot was well placed as a CAP member. In his service he felt confident that he was helping his country at home and in the process protecting his family and his community.
As a father, Boy Scouts of America and scouting in general, became important to him and his three sons, Rome, Thomas, Todd and daughter Virginia. After their years as scouts Wynne continued as a volunteer and was the Assistant Scout Leader, Level One at Camp Pico Blanco and thus he helped raise a generation or two of scouts. He and his wife were also members of White Stag Leadership Development.
Although pest control was his living, his true love and passion was photography which began for him as a small child while visiting his grandfather Thomas Hutchings, a portrait photographer in Los Angeles. Here he learned to work with glass plates and from that he went on to develop his own style of photography. At Monterey Peninsula College he met Al Weber who was to be his first mentor. Weber asked him to be the lab assistant at the college and then thru Weber he became a member of the newly formed Friends of Photography and continued that membership all of his life. It was thru this association with Weber that he met Ansel Adams and later became one of Adams' lab assistants at the Yosemite workshops. In true form he learned all he could from Adams and others that he has worked with thru the photography group. He embraced film in its black and white medium until he learned enough to go onto color processes and then finally the mysteries of digital photography. He was never one to shut the door on any new or interesting idea and his education continued up until his last day. But in the end he also had much to teach as well and always thought of himself as a teacher whether it be photography or pest control. He was included in the recent publication "In From the Light" by Nolan Preece, a collection of essays concerning photographers and their labs in the Bay Area.
At his passing he leaves behind his wife, Sheila and their children: Rome and wife Lori of Clearwater, MN; Thomas and wife Cynthia of Bishop, CA; Virginia Courtney and husband Jack of Marina, CA; Todd and wife LuAnne of Prunedale, CA. He was a proud grandfather and always acknowledged that fact by speaking in loving terms of his granddaughter Sheila Downing and husband Joshua of Salinas, CA; Jeremy Hutchings and wife Laura of Milwaukee, WI; Samantha Hutchings of South San Francisco, CA serving in the USMC, Joshua Hutchings of Alaska serving in the USAF, and Angela Marchica and husband Emmanuel of Prunedale, CA. He leaves two sisters, Ione Unruh of Lawrence, KS and Romanda Wilson of Kansas City, MO (deceased), four nieces, one nephew and ten great grandchildren.
Wynne was a good friend to many and this was returned to him a thousand fold. In the past few years his neighbors Harry Christensen, wife Tublai and "Good Neighbor" Steve Lowder, have been constant support to him and his family, as have his doctors John Bennett and Mike Galloway. With their help his last years and days were made comfortable and the family deeply appreciates them. Arrangements being made by Mission Mortuary.
There will be a private memorial for the family at this time, followed by a public memorial service in the spring of 2016, for all the many friends, associates and family that wish to be present to remember him. The family asks that in lieu of flowers a contribution in his name can be made to Community Human Services, P.O. Box 3076, Monterey, CA 93942. In his memory a tree may be planted and nurtured to keep his name in the flow of the universe.
- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/montereyherald/obituary.aspx?pid=176947288#sthash.khMfSFei.dpuf