Katherine "Sue" Hutton

Katherine Sue Hughes Hutton, daughter of Roy Virgil Hughes and Loretta Alma Marah Hughes, was born May 1, 1936, in Hartville, MO. She passed this life on March 2, 2024, at the age of 87 years, 10 months and one day.  She was preceded in death by two sons, Dave Hutton and Danial Hutton, her brother, Paul Hughes, and her parents. 

Sue is survived by eight of her ten children: Chuck Hutton and his wife, Brenda, of Mansfield, MO, Janalyn Edmonds and her husband, Gerald, of Mansfield, MO, Dave’s wife, Kathy Hutton, of Lebanon, MO, Jackie Green of Bolivar, MO, Charlotte Still and her husband, Greg, of Grovespring, MO, Carol Spencer and her husband, Earl, of Norwood, MO, Chris Hutton and his wife, Carmen, of Strafford, MO, Nancy Still and her husband, Robby, of Grovespring, MO, Tracy Ward and her husband, Ty, of Indianapolis, IN. She is also survived by her sister Dotty Dunn of Mountain Grove, MO, her brother, Johnny Hughes and his wife, Bonnie, of Springfield, MO, and Paul’s wife, Nancy Hughes, of Hartville, MO.

Though she loved her children without limit, the true joy of Sue’s life were her grandchildren, Brandon Edmonds and his wife, Laurel, Sara Edmonds, Julie Barton and her husband, Blaz’, Kellie Konyha and her husband, Zak, Graham Hutton and his wife, Liz, Chelsea Chapman and her husband, Brandon, Malcolm Green and his wife, Lexi, Haley Putnam and her husband, Blake, Dana Pedersen and her husband, Jared, Justin Still, Aaron Spencer and his wife, Hope, Michelle Spencer, Carley Mills, Emily Brisbois and her husband, Dustin, Megan Hutton, Josh Hutton, Evan Hutton, Lyndsay Burke, Grace Carr and her husband, Dakota, Katie Still, Kelsay Still, Erin Still, Taylor Ward, Dylan Ward, and many beloved great-grandchildren. 

After graduating Hartville High School in 1954, Sue went to work as a bookkeeper for the Wright County Bank. She worked there for 2.5 years, then got married and moved to Joliet, IL, where she continued to work in banking. After giving birth to her first three children, Sue moved back to the Odin community in 1961, separated from her husband in 1976 and lived a peaceful and faith-filled life, raising the rest of her children in that big, old house on Highway 38. When the last of her kids moved into adulthood, Sue sold the big house and moved next to her oldest daughter in Mansfield, MO. She became a member of the Mansfield Church of the Nazarene and worshipped with family, friends, and her community for the next thirty years. 

As a mother, if you were to ask any one of her ten children who was her favorite child, they would raise their hand and say, “I was!” But honestly, it was Tracy or sometimes Davy, but only because of his velvety smooth radio voice and the way he played her favorite Southern gospel music. They all had their gifts that she encouraged and nurtured. That’s a testament to the kind of mother she was. She made each feel like they were the favorite. Sue’s relationship with every individual child was as unique as the patterns she sewed, no two were the same. Whether they were blended or biological, her people were hers. “Step” did not exist in her vocabulary. She held her family up and seamed them together the way God held her; with patience (required more for some than others), unconditional love and unending forgiveness. 

You can’t say the name Sue Hutton, or Grandma Sue, without thinking of sewing and quilting. Tens of thousands of hours were put into making a patchwork of memories with a needle and thread. Sewing wasn’t just the way she made her living, it was her refuge, her solitude, and the way she blanketed her family and friends with love and her ministry to those in need.  

“When you are feeling down, the best thing you can do

is something nice for someone else.”

Those weren’t just words Sue wrote in a notebook with ideas for a Sunday school lesson, they were the embodiment of the way she lived. Her love for Jesus and her dedication to serving the Lord through faith, kindness, and an endless supply of positivity meant that there’d be no adversity in life that could keep her down. Not only did she keep an endless supply of handmade treasures doled out to family and friends, but she also blessed Harmony House and Newborns in Need with many of her precious quilts. 

Logic tells us that a full life, lived by a faith-filled woman, who was ready to meet Jesus and be reunited with two of her boys, should be cause for celebration. But life teaches us that two things can be true at once—we can be happy that heaven is rejoicing while those of us on earth feel the loss. She will be remembered as a treasured friend, favorite cousin and aunt, best sister ever, world’s greatest grandmother, and most beloved mom.