Hutton's widow dies at 93

On nice days, Kathryn Hutton used to ride her bike to campus and play kick the can on Ninth Street.

She lived in Bloomington, down the block from the Kinsey family.

Mr. Kinsey was often outside wearing his underwear or very short shorts, Jennie Jacoby, one of Hutton’s three children, said.

Kathryn Hutton passed away early last week at the age of 93.

She and her late husband, Edward Hutton, were both alumni and benefactors of IU.

In 2003, the family gave $9 million to IU to establish an endowment for the International Experiences Program, according to the Hutton Honors College website.

The family’s contributions have assisted students with traveling and living expenses, allowing them to complete service projects and internships outside of the United States.

“Thanks to the Hutton family international experience is affordable to our students,” Hutton Honors College Dean Fritz Breithaupt said.

Jacoby said her mother was extremely humble, even to a fault.
She never liked the limelight and she loved the city of Bloomington.

“I’ve been struck by the number of friends who have been writing me emails,” she said. “Mom was like a second mother to them.”

Edward worked in Germany during World War II.

Breithaupt said Edward’s time there inspired him to help undergraduate students gain access to international experiences.

In fall 2004, the University renamed the Hutton Honors College in honor of the Hutton family’s philanthropy.

The Hutton International Experiences Program and the Hutton Family Study Abroad Scholarship are also named after the family.

Kim Maryrose was a member of the first class of Wells Scholars and interacted with Kathryn during her time at IU.

“She was always interested in what was going on (in my life) and was unfailingly kind,” Maryrose said. “I remain grateful to her all these years later.”

While her husband was in Germany, Kathryn lived in Bloomington and worked at the IU library.

Jacoby said her mother donated money to Bloomington’s local WGHB radio station because she liked listening to the classical music at home.

Jacoby said it kept her Kathryn company. 

“Whenever she talked about her time at Indiana there was always this great joy,” she said.

She said Bloomington was her mother’s playground.

When it was warm enough, Jacoby said Kathryn loved to swim in the quarries, south of town.

When Kathryn was young, a friend Dick Reid, who lived next door, couldn’t pronounce her name, so he called her Gainie.

The nickname stuck with Kathryn for the rest of her life.

As a student, Kathryn was elected president of Motor Board, a national organization for women in community leadership roles.

Jacoby said her mother was much more open-minded than many others in her generation.

She read one of her mother’s favorite quotes, the one from Barbara Streisand.

“How boring life would be if we all were the same,” she said. “My perfect world is one where we appreciate each other’s differences — black, white, gay, straight. We are not the same, but equal.” 

Fallen yellow and red leaves now rest around a granite tombstone marked “Hutton” in Dunn Cemetery. 

The Hutton family plans to spread Kathryn and Edward’s ashes at IU next summer.

IU Foundation President Dan Smith said the University community will be forever affected by all the Hutton family did to provide students with the means for true success in the global community.

“The family’s extraordinary generosity and steadfast commitment to scholarship and academic excellence will impact students for generations to come,” Smith said.

Follow reporter Matt Bloom on Twitter @matthew_bloom.