Douglas Paul Hutchison ’61

Hutch died Nov. 7, 1998, at Silver Cross Hospital in his hometown, Joliet, Ill., after battling brain cancer for a year. "A top community leader," the Joliet papers said, and truer words were never printed.

Hutch attended Joliet Township H.S. At Princeton, he joined WPRB and the Freshman Glee Club, and, in sophomore year, the cheerleading squad, becoming head cheerleader in junior year. A Quad member and politics major, he wrote his thesis on federal judicial selection. A loyal Princetonian and classmate, he served on the Schools Committee and never missed a major reunion, dues notice, or Annual Giving request.

He earned his JD from Northwestern and joined a firm known today as McKeown, Fitzgerald, Zollner, Buck, Hutchison and Ruttle. The list of Hutch's professional, political, philanthropic, and civic activities, accomplishments, and awards is, in a word, staggering. Suffice it to say that he set an example and pace to which all of us should aspire.

His senior-year roomies, Mike Wurmfeld, Skip Sachner, and Bumpy Loud, attended his funeral service, at which his daughter, Jill Seifert, delivered a set of remembrances that stirred the soul, concluding, "I'll always remember, when I count my blessings, to count my Dad twice."

Hutch is survived by his wife, Susan, daughters Megan and Jill, sons Michael and Douglas Jr., his parents, three grandchildren, and a brother. We join them in their grief.

The Class of 1961