Thief River Falls – Paul Hutchinson, 44, Thief River Falls, died peacefully on Thursday March 19, 2015 at Oakland Park Communities, Thief River Falls.
The service to celebrate the life of Paul will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, March 27 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Thief River Falls, with Rev. John Voelker officiating. Casket bearers include Paul’s nephews, Jamey Brandon, Tony Brandon, Michael Brandon, DJ Anderson, Adam Anderson, Andrew Anderson, Brody Jesme and Brenden Jesme. Honorary casket bearers include Paul’s classmates in the Lincoln High School Class of 1989, Paul’s Co-workers throughout the years and Paul’s friends. Interment will follow at the German Evangelical Cemetery in rural Middle River.
Visitation will be held from 5 to 8 p.m., with a 7 p.m. prayer service on Thursday, March 26 at Johnson Funeral Service in Thief River Falls. Visitation will also be held from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Friday at Trinity Lutheran Church.
Paul Merton Hutchinson was born September 8, 1970 in Thief River Falls, the son of Merton R. and Juanita (Burrell) Hutchinson. He was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Thief River Falls, and confirmed at St. Pauli Lutheran Church in 1985. Paul attended Northrop Elementary, Franklin Middle School and graduated from Lincoln High School in the class of 1989. While in high school Paul was a member of the FFA and was Snowfest King in 10th grade.
Also in high school he worked at Florence’s Café as a dishwasher and at Bugge’s Oil and Service starting as a gas pump attendant and then going out on wrecker calls.
At the age of 20, Paul entered into service with the United States Army in 1990. He served mainly in Germany and was present when the Berlin Wall came down. Paul was Honorably Discharged in 1993 and returned to Thief River Falls and got his CDL and began work with his father as a truck driver both intra-state and inter-state. He was eventually owner of Thief River Trucking and Hutchinson Logistics. He also drove for Thygeson Construction and worked for the City of Thief River Falls Sanitation Department. In August of 2013 he sold his trucking equipment and was most recently employed at Arctic Cat Inc. on the Paint Line.
On July 6, 1996, Paul was united in marriage to Janelle Skjerping and to this union two children were welcomed, Jessica and Austin and they made their home in Thief River Falls. On April 25, 2004, Paul was united in marriage to Kerri Pederson.
Paul had a great sense of humor, was a prankster and liked to make people laugh. He enjoyed collecting antiques, history, buying and selling vehicles, fishing, and spending time with friends and family. Paul loved to travel; he visited his Aunt Shirley in the Washington/Oregon area in the summer out of high school, visited the southwest states in field research while enlisted with the U.S. Army and also toured Germany and Denmark while stationed there. He was a member of the VFW Post 2793 in Thief River Falls.
Survivors include his daughter, Jessica of Fargo, N.D.; son, Austin of Thief River Falls; father, Merton of Thief River Falls; siblings, Cindy (Scott) Brandon of Middle River, Boni (Todd) Fossell of Karlstad, and Michele Hutchinson of Thief River Falls; several nieces and nephews; several great-nieces and great-nephews; uncles and aunts, Conrad (Jean) Burrell of Middle River, Virginia (Bernard) Wells of Goodridge, Lorraine (Stanley) Olson of Big Lake, Marvin (Eileen) Hutchinson of Springsteel, James (Norma) Hutchinson of Thief River Falls; and many other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Juanita in 1997; god-son and nephew, Cody Brandon in 2002; grandparents, Clyde and Beatrice Hutchinson and Carl and Adeline Burrell; aunt, Shirley Russell; uncle, Ronald “Butch” Burrell; and nephew, Lars Sundberg.
Condolences may be sent to www.johnsonfuneralservice.com.