Page 29 - Newsletter_Spring_2020

Meet Your Board

Nancy Russell Hutchinson ’56 – Class Rep

Forward by Rachel Fitzpatrick ’93 Re-printed Article by Frances Hutchinson ‘78

Nancy Russell Hutchinson ’56 joined the board as a 1-year term member in 2005 but continued through 2013. Nancy was a
diligent class representative for her class of 1956 since the beginning in 1997 through 2013. Nancy also participated in the Planning
Committee for the Multi-year Reunions in 2000, 2005 and 2010, but unfortunately, Nancy passed in October 2013. In the North
Star News Spring/Summer 2014 edition, Frances Hutchinson ’78, Nancy’s daughter, wrote a fitting tribute to her mother entitled
“Nancy R. Hutchinson – An Appreciation”. Frances was living in London, United Kingdom at the time the article was written. Below
is the re-print along with the editor’s note from 2014, which sums up Nancy better than anyone could.

Nancy R. Hutchinson – An Appreciation

Editor’s Note: The Alumni Association, like
all of the community was very saddened at the
passing of our long-time board member last fall.
We wanted to honor her with a tribute to show
what a wonderful woman, friend, and colleague
this lady was. Who better to write this tribute
for us than her daughter, Fran, who is presently
living in England. Our thanks go out to her for
this wonderful tribute.

My mother, Nancy Russell Hutchinson,
long time SAD 29 teacher, alumna and class
representative of the Houlton High School Class
of 1956, died unexpectedly last October. The
loss of such a vibrant and energetic woman was
a shock to her family and the wider community
who knew her as a teacher, colleague, a fellow
alumni or as a friend. We received many
Nancy and her siblings touching tributes to Mom, this one from a
former student, Skip Folsom ‘93: “My wish is that
every child could be lucky enough to have a teacher and friend in their life like ‘Mrs. Hutchinson’! I am one of the
lucky ones to have personally experienced her love and encouragement.”

Mom was a passionate educator and loved reading and learning and conveyed that enthusiasm to her students.
What made her special was that she was more than just a skilled educator – she was genuinely interested in people
and valued every relationship.

Mom (and Dad as well) believed in the value of higher education and were pleased that the four of us all completed
four-year college degrees. Likewise, Mom also encouraged and inspired her students to pursue education beyond
high school. She was always especially proud of former student, Allen Delong, the only student of hers to complete
a PhD (so far…) Mom credited a substitute teacher she had during 2 nd grade at St Mary’s, Mrs. Cecilia Watson
McGillicuddy, as the inspiration for this practice. Unlike the nuns, Mrs. McGillicuddy read to the class every
afternoon right after recess and that positive “one off” experience stuck with Mom. When she became a teacher
herself, she was determined that she would carry on the practice with her students.

After her first eight years of schooling at St Mary’s, Mom moved to HHS for high school. She did well in school but
had determined early on that her strengths were in English, history and verbal subjects, while she found the math
and sciences to be more challenging. Still, she did well enough to get on the honor roll and in her junior year was
elected to the National Honor Society Perhaps foreshadowing her future as a teacher of English and language arts,
Mom always enjoyed English classes. Particular favorites were her sophomore English class, taught by Ruth Harding

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