Florence Hutchinson

Florence “Flo” Hutchinson passed away peacefully on Thursday, June 27, 2019 at Essentia Health – St. Mary’s in Detroit Lakes, MN. She was 90 years old.  Florence was born on July 5, 1928 to Frank and Martha Novacek in Greenbush, MN, as the oldest of six children. The family spoke Polish at home, and she received her First Holy Communion in the Polish language at St. Aloysius Parish, in the village of Leo near Greenbush.  Since that early day, her devout faith in Christ was forever her defining feature along with her drive to serve others. Flo prayed to St. Therese, her favorite Saint, daily. After high school graduation, Florence entered nurses’ training at Hibbing General Hospital and the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth (1947-1950) and graduated as a registered nurse. She worked as an R.N. at hospitals in Crookston and Hibbing during the polio epidemic and later at Detroit Lakes as a surgical or “scrub” nurse.  At one point she was an infant nurse; in her later years she would talk about taking care of all the babies. Florence married Frank Hutchinson, also of Greenbush, MN, on January 2, 1952. They were blessed with four children, Tom, Dave, Mike and Kathy. When the youngest child Kathy entered junior high, Florence returned to work, this time at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, initially to clean and care for the church and rectory. This experimental part time job became a 31-year career at Holy Rosary (1977-2008) during which Florence filled many roles in the parish including sacristan, chief housekeeper and anything else that was needed. She was often found comforting those in distress, handing out treats to school children, and liberally dispensing much needed advice to teens and adults (pastors included). Florence was honored for her many years of service to the Catholic Community by the creation of the Florence Hutchinson Legacy Award which she received in 2013. Since then, it is awarded annually to acknowledge the commitment of another community member who follows in Flo’s tradition of cheerful service to our Church and the people it serves.  Flo was a sports fan through and through. One of her greatest joys was cheering on her children and grandchildren in their sports and activities. She rarely missed a ballgame and was often the first fan in the stands.  When Florence was not attending sporting events she loved to spend time refinishing wood furniture. Florence is preceded in death by her parents, her brothers, Chester and Richard and sister Frances. She is survived by her husband of 67 years, Frank, her sisters Joan Bertilrud and Geraldine (Henry) Nubson; children Thomas (Rebecca), David (Terri), Michael (Cheryl), and Kathryn (Michael) Majsak; and her grandchildren Josh, Anna, Kristen, Joe, Betsy, Robin, Rick, Trisa, Frankie, Ronnie, Matt and John and eight great-grandchildren.  Visitation is from 5-7 PM on Monday, July 1 at the West-Kjos chapel, followed by a short prayer service and time for sharing memories of Flo.  A Mass celebrating Flo’s life will be held at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Detroit Lakes on Tuesday, July 2 at 11:00 AM with visitation one hour prior to mass.   Memorials are preferred to the Holy Rosary Sam Mattioli Teachers’ Endowment Fund or the Church for a new altar cloth.