Obituary of Beverly Rosemarie Willits Hutchinson

At 10:02 on October 31, 2024, Beverly Rosemarie Willits Hutchinson passed peacefully into the arms of her Creator. Beverly was born in Great Falls, Montana on November 22, 1944, to Maxine Hortense Delphi Willits and James Thomas Willits. She had two sisters, Iris Elaine Willits Hutchinson born on May 20, 1947, and Shelly June Willits born on June 2, 1953. She attended Largent, Longfellow, and Russell Elementary. She went to West Junior High School where she met James Claude Richard Hutchinson for the first time. Beverly attended Great Falls High School. During this time, she was active in 4H and thespians and worked for Dairy Queen, JCPenney’s, and the Chuck Wagon Cafe. She graduated high school in 1963 and married James on December 12, 1964, at First Methodist Church. She completed one year of college at MSC in Bozeman, Montana. Beverly studied child development and other classes focused on homemaking skills. After completing college, she and James lived in Spokane, Washington from September 1965 through June 1966 so he could attend Kidman Business College. It was during this time that their son, Rick was born on April 24, 1966. Although Rick’s birth weight is common by modern standards, the doctor remarked to Beverly that she was the mother of a baby moose. They returned to Montana, and after six months in Great Falls, they moved to Helena for a few months before settling permanently back in Great Falls. Their daughter Robin was born on September 15, 1970. Although Beverly’s primary focus was raising her children, she found plenty of time to hold down various occupations throughout her lifetime. These included selling Avon, working for Spectrum Medical, working as a realtor for three years, and working as an investment counselor for Waddell and Reed. She and James also owned Stanley Aluminum and Hutchinson Electric. In 1981, at the age of 37, Beverly was diagnosed with breast cancer. This will be the beginning of a long hard fight that would last the rest of her life. During this time, she enjoyed volunteer work for the cancer society, nursing homes, and her church. Beverly enjoyed traveling and visited many major U.S. cities, Canada, Mexico, Israel, and Australia. She was also fascinated by archaeology, paleontology, and art; she made a point of passing on her love of learning to her grandchildren whom she cherished dearly. As they grew, Bev took every opportunity to volunteer in classrooms, take vacations, and enrich the lives of her grandchildren. Beverly dedicated her life to taking care of everyone around her. She was fiercely loyal, and her capacity for kindness was a blessing to all who knew her. In her final days, Beverly was surrounded by those she loved, many came to pay their final respects, share stories of how she had impacted their lives, and say tearful goodbyes. Beverly was preceded in death by her parents, Maxine and James Willits; her husband, James; her son, Rick; and her brother-in-law, Jack. Beverly is survived by her sisters, Iris Hutchinson and Shelly Ziegler; her daughter, Robin Western, who was her caretaker for the last eight years; Robin‘s husband, Scott and their children, Cody and Courtney; her daughter-in-law, Shantelle Hutchinson; her granddaughter, Aly Nordwall, Aly’s husband Paul, their children, Raelynn and Lucas; their Godchildren, Hailey Nadeau and Mallory Wood, and their parents, Doug and Tammy Morse; and many other cousins, nieces, and nephews. She will be dearly missed in ways that words could never express. A memorial service will be held for Beverly at Faith Lutheran Church at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 8, 2024. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Faith Lutheran Church or Shriners Children's Hospital in Spokane.