Francis Baird Hutto Jr.

On July 6th, Francis B. Hutto Jr. aged ninety-seven, passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family. Francis was born in Savannah, GA, to Mary Margaret Gnann and Francis B Hutto Sr. He received a bachelor’s degree from Clemson and went on to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry at Cornell University, where he met MaryJane Hall of Inlet, NY. They were married in 1952 and settled in New Jersey to start a family where Francis had taken a job with Johns Manville in Research and Development. In 1972, JM relocated their research division to Denver, bringing Francis, MaryJane, and six children (plus one unofficially adopted) with them. In 1976 a former JM manager recruited Francis to be the director of R and D at Pabco Corporation in Fruita, Co. After retiring in 1993, he started a materials testing and consulting business which he operated out of a home lab for ten years. Although his degrees were in chemistry, he spent his career working in the field of Chemical Engineering. He was honored by being made a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Francis was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Grand Junction and was a founding member of Monument Presbyterian Church on the Redlands. He enjoyed music and singing and lifelong involvement with church choirs, barbershop quartets, and choruses. He shared his love of music with all his children, insisting that each played instruments in school bands and participated in school and church choirs. He was a versatile do-it-yourselfer who was unafraid to tackle projects from home remodels to car repairs and anything in between. In the fall of 2019, MaryJane passed away suddenly after suffering a massive stroke. They had been married for 67 years. Francis moved from their shared home in Grand Junction to live with his daughters in Delta. To those who knew Francis, he quickly offered his handyman skills to family, neighbors, and friends. He loved sharing his tools, shop, and know-how with anyone who took an interest. In recent years, he liked to boast that he still had all his original joints and regularly declared that he had “no aches and pains.” He delighted in playing dominos, pool, and chess with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and managed to ride his exercise bike daily until shortly before he passed. He was an inspiration to his family and friends and will be dearly missed.

Francis is survived by his children, Frank (Holly), Haider (Isumi), Madeline (Henry), Roger (Patty), Nancy, Ellen, and Amy; Grandchildren, Boone (Nikki), Emily, Franklin (Rachel), Tanner (Maggie), Luke, Andy (Charissa); Great grandchildren, Bryce, Hunter, Aspen, MaryJane, Aizlynn, Harmon, DonRoger, Quinn, Riot, and Elise.

The Hutto family is extremely grateful to Hope West for the hospice care that allowed Francis to pass peacefully at home. In Lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in his name to HopeWest 3090 North 12th Street Unit B, Grand Junction, Co. 81506 online, at www.hopewestco.org.

Memorial Service Interment: (Both Francis’s and MaryJane’s’ ashes will be interred at this time.) Monday, July 31st at 10:00 am in the Orchard Mesa Cemetery, 2620 Legacy Way, Grand Junction, CO 81503.

Celebration of Life: will be held on Wednesday, August 2nd, at 3:00 pm at the Center for Spiritual Life, 658 Howard Street Delta, Co 81416—dinner reception to follow.