Wayne R. Hutchinson

Wayne R. Hutchinson

Wayne R. Hutchinson, 96, of Fort Dodge, passed away on Friday, July 20, 2012 at the Trinity Regional Medical Center.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 24, 2012 at the Bruce-Graham Funeral Home with the Reverend Stephen Peters officiating.  Interment will follow in the Fort Dodge Memorial Park Cemetery.  Visitation will be held from 6 until 9 p.m. Monday at the funeral home.

Wayne Raymond Hutchinson was born on October 31, 1915, in Otho, Iowa, the son of Edward Wesley and Jesse Grace (Arledge) Hutchinson. He was the youngest of five children. His mother died when he was only seven years old. His father raised him to his early teen years. During those years, his father worked as a blacksmith in Moorland, Vincent, Livermore and other small towns in the area. Wayne's formal education ended with eighth grade.

In his teen years, Wayne hopped boxcars and followed the harvest for work. These travels covered several states and extended as far as the Minnesota/ Canada border to harvest potatoes. As a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), in 1934 and 1935, he was stationed at the camp near Hampton. While in the CCC, Wayne worked on a gang that collected large boulders used to build a large dam. When the dam was completed, the man-made Beads Lake was created.  

He met Doris Dolores Molsberry in Plymouth and they were married in Mason City on April 20th, 1935. The couple had a son who died in childbirth. Subsequently, the couple moved to Fort Dodge where they raised two daughters and a son.

In spite of a limited formal education, Wayne had a talent for all things mechanical. He worked for twenty nine years in Fort Dodge at Nebraska Bridge Supply and Lumber Company. While employed there, and making picket and snow fence, he modified equipment requiring four men to operate so that he could operate it alone. When the company closed and moved to Omaha, he worked four years at Warner-Swayze an assembly line manufacturer of huge cranes. Wayne had experience with all positions on the line. Citing quality control problems and a critical order, company management asked Wayne to build an entire 50 ton crane by himself. After working on the project for three months, the task was complete and the crane was shipped to a customer in Brazil. Later, when asked in his whole life what his favorite job was, Wayne quickly responded ""Warner-Swayze""

Wayne greatly enjoyed his hobbies of bowling and fishing. He was a ""Classic"" league bowler for many years and competed on many occasions in National American Bowling Congress and Petersen Classic tournaments, teaming with the elite bowlers of Fort Dodge. His fishing experiences include the Des Moines River, many Iowa and Minnesota lakes, Canadian trips and Texas Gulf fishing.

Preceding him in death were his parents, his wife, son Richard Kenneth, daughters Geraldine (Jeri) Louise Fowler and Nancy Rae Peterson/Redling, great grandson Patrick James Ward, siblings Cecil Agnes Utt/Roberts, Albert Ross Hutchinson, Roy Verne Hutchinson, and Charlotte Geneva Willsher.

Surviving him are a son Jack Edwin (Alice) Hutchinson of Belleville, IL, granddaughters (Jeri's daughters); Joline Adele (Jim) Mattingly of Maricopa, AZ, Keeli Ray (Greg) Ward of Waukon, IA, Kathi Lyn (Pat Kolar) Black of Dakota City, IA, Karri Lea (Jeff) George of Humboldt, IA, Dorine Ann (Alan) Peterson of Kent, IA, Daniele (Ray) Cooper of Red Oak, IA, Bekki Sue Weeda of Cedar Falls, IA, grandsons (Jack's sons); Kevin Wayne (Georgia) Hutchinson of Columbia, IL, Mark Robert (Sue) Hutchinson of Elmhurst, IL, Jeffrey Richard Hutchinson of Shiloh, IL, granddaughters (Nancy's daughters); Tamara Jo (Andrew) Fullerton of Boone, IA, Kelly Ann Peterson of Aurora, CO, thirty six great grandchildren, sixteen great great grandchildren, and dear friends Jim (Betty) Hepperle.  

Fort Dodge Area Funeral & Cremation Service, Bruce Funeral Home