Hutcheson, James H

“Georgia on My Mind,” recording by Ray Charles

Welcome and Prayer by David Glover Scripture Reading of Romans 12:9-13 by Don Beecham

“Holy, Holy, Holy,” led by Randy Gill

Spiritual Journey by Pat Bennett “O Little town of Bethlehem,” led by Randy Gill

Work Career by Dennis Elliott Song Presentation of “What a Wonderful World” by Randy Gill

Family Memories by Sisters--Carol Dunphy and Sara Hannum

Son--James Hutcheson III Granddaughter--Madison Orozco “Blessed Assurance” led by Randy Gill

“Breathe”

Closing Thoughts and Prayer by Daughter Jennifer and Daniel Mangrum

Notes by Sandra Collins

I wrote these notes about Jim during the memorial service as friends and family spoke. I didn’t know him, but I learned quickly why he was so loved and admired.

David Glover said that Jim and he grew up on the southside of Atlanta. In 1969 Jim met his wife-to-be. He loved Georgia Tech football but went to Georgia State. What he would say if he could speak to the group at the funeral would be, “Come to Jesus” if someone did not know Christ. What he would say to Christians would be, “Grow Closer.”

Pat Bennett talked about how Jim had grown up Methodist. He had joined the Marines. At some point he grew actively involved in church activities. In 1996 the family had moved to Nashville, where he was a good Samaritan to widows, the elderly, and the disabled children in the Holy Land, where he heavily supported the mission work of an orphanage/hospital that treated both Israeli and Palestinian children. He played Santa Claus to those children for many years at Christmas.

Dennis Elliott talked about working with him in insurance and health care. Jim had begun in life insurance in Georgia, where he married his boss’s daughter. He rose to become group sales manager. In 2004 he was hired to work at the Bureau of TN Care for the state. He traveled the state helping providers better understand the way TN Care worked. His career, Dennis said, was about service to God, family, and whomever he came into contact with. He always read his Bible during lunch time. And he always had to tell others how to spell his name: “Hutcheson with an E.”

Jim’s two sisters spoke for the family. His twin sister told how he and she had had cribs in the same bedroom and would jiggle the cribs toward each other so they could crawl into one to laugh and play together, talking “twin” talk. They were devoted to each other: she and he helped each other when they ran for class offices in high school; he became president, she secretary. He had played the male lead in South Pacific; she played the lead in the play the following year. They were inseparable. He was hard-working and had his own lawnmowing business at fourteen. He had spent some time bagging groceries as well.

The younger sister talked about learning from him to share his love of sports, baseball card trading, and whiffle ball. Jim, she said, was interested in family members and would ask all kinds of questions so he could know them fully. She felt great pride in her brother, who was always encouraging others. After she and he lived in different states, they stayed connected via Facebook and the internet.

James Hutcheson III talked about Jim’s remarkable memory for dates of life events: “Last year at this time, we…” or “two weeks ago today, we….” He had enjoyed watching his father interact with nurses and visitors while hospitalized because he was interested in them and wanted to encourage them. He had coached Little League and led the Boy Scouts when he had been involved. He loved watching movies and doing things with the children and grandchildren. He was thrifty and never missed a coupon or a bargain. He had once had so many coupons that the clerk had to give him money back for the jar of mayonnaise that he had purchased. He said saving money on little things made it possible to go on more trips. Among the many things he learned from his wonderful father were these very important principles: treat other people well, with respect; stick with the family through whatever comes; stay brave; keep the faith; be committed to helping others.

Madison Orozco, granddaughter, spoke about how Jim had taught her to make grits and to love sports. He talked about sports with her whenever they were together. She had worn a yellow dress to the memorial service to honor him because yellow was his favorite color. He led by example, she said, and had a heart for the Lord. He had worked on his relationship with God and had encouraged others. He didn’t talk about mission work; he practiced it, worked on it both here and in other places as well. As other family members had said, she knew how interested he was in other people, encouraging and congratulating them. He had a great sense of humor and was a great story teller and teacher. He loved Scrabble and would apologize when he had the little two-letter word that would win the game.

I do not recall who said this. Jim would be listening to a person talk and would interrupt with the name of the person. He imagined that right now as Jesus is welcoming him to heaven, Jim is breaking in with, “Jesus!”