Betty Hutson

Betty Rose Hutson of Durham, N.C., died at Croasdaile Village, in Durham, on Sunday, April 15, 2018. Betty was born in Cleveland, Tennessee on January 13, 1924, the daughter of Bonnie Rollins and Frank Rose. She attended high school in Dalton, Ga., and graduated from Brenau College in Gainesville in 1945. Betty wrote for the college paper, The Brenau Alchemist, and The Flame, the campus literary magazine. She was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, where she formed life-long friendships. While at Brenau, she met Harry Hutson, who was teaching at a local military school. They were married on October 24,1945, at the Little Church Around the Corner in New York City. Three days after their wedding, Harry was posted to Germany, and he and Betty remained apart for 13 months. She joined him in Heidelberg after an Atlantic crossing on a troop ship. Their wartime courtship and brief honeymoon were just the start of a lifelong romance. Betty and Harry, small-town Americans and children of the Great Depression, lived in service to others. Through 63 years of marriage, they found ways to travel and make friends with people all over the world. Betty reveled in her roles and duties as daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, citizen, and, of course, friend. She could be counted on to offer an ear, a smile, or some sage advice to anyone (including U.S. Presidents). Generous, discerning, modest, upbeat, and witty—this was Betty. The family moved often as Harry pursued a career in academe—from Massapequa, New York to Iowa City, Iowa; to London, England; to McMinnville, Oregon; to Timonium, Maryland; to Appleton, Wisconsin; and to Martin, Tennessee. In 1998, they retired to Durham. Wherever they lived, Betty involved herself in the community—as an active churchgoer and choir member, as a neighbor, and as a charity and school volunteer.Betty is survived by her children, Harry Hutson Jr. and daughter-in-law, Marsha Dodds Russell, of Chapel Hill, N.C., Sally Hutson Edwards and son-in-law Alan Davisson, of Cary, N. C., Peter Hutson of Raleigh, N. C. and Andrew Hutson, of Eugene, Ore.; grandchildren, Emily Hutson and her husband, Sean Chen-Haider, Matthew Hutson, Sarah Edwards, Zachary Edwards and his wife Emily Robinson, Sydney Hutson, and Grant Hutson; and great-grandchildren. Louise Hutson and Julia Hutson. She was predeceased by her brother, Frank Rose Jr.; her sister, Roberta Hamm; and in 2008 by her husband, Harry.