Stewart Hutchings

Harold Stewart Hutchings of Ottawa, passed away on Jan 3rd in his 93rd year. He is survived by his daughter, Lexanne of Norland, his son, Bradley (Ann), step grand-daughter Alana (Nicolas), and great-grandchildren, Helena, Sydney and Cameron, all of Ottawa.

He was predeceased in 2021 by Francine, his wife of 70 years; his parents, Harold and Lena Hutchings; and his first born son, Kirk.

Stew was born and raised in Kapuskasing, working at Spruce Falls Pulp & Paper from 1947 until his retirement in 1990.

He graduated from the NY Institute of Photography in 1954 and spent several years taking wedding photos and developing his own film in his at-home darkroom.

An avid trout fisherman, Stew had many enjoyable trips with his buddies up the Snake and Nagagamisis rivers plus moose hunting west of Hearst from the early 50s through to the mid 60s.

Stew loved carpentry and cabinet making and his skills were evident in everything he built. In 1957 Stewart and Francine started building the Remi Lake cottage and he was proud to say it was finally finished in 1991. Many happy events & occasions were celebrated there; boating and trick water-skiing, July 1st parties and winter skating rinks. After retirement, they stayed at the cottage every summer until it was sold in 2018.

He and Fran loved to travel, with the 70s and 80s filled with trips to the tropics, a European tour in 1981 to celebrate their 30th Anniversary and RVing throughout Newfoundland in the 90s.

Stew’s love of horticulture started in the mid 60s, and a lifetime membership in the Kapuskasing Horticultural Society followed, with many awards won and positions of office held. He was thrilled to build his own backyard greenhouse with a thermostatically controlled heating and cooling system.

His interest in cooking started in the early 70s and his first endeavour, with a house full of guests, was serving a 7 course Christmas meal he’d seen published in the Toronto Star. Stew was willing to try any type of food and thoroughly enjoyed cooking the exotic right up until a couple years ago.

While London, Ont became home base after retirement and summers were spent at Remi Lake, winter was travel time. The first RV winter, 1990, was spent in Texas. In years following both California & Arizona were also extensively explored. In 1999 they RV’d Route 66 in its entirety, from Chicago to LA, where they ushered in the year 2000 at the Santa Monica Pier. Once RVing ended in 2013, future winters were spent in Florida, where pot luck suppers were a highlight of Stew’s winter. It was the new friends made along his retirement path that made these years so special for him.

Stewart’s children would like to thank friends and staff at The Redwoods, the HCCSS team and the Regional Palliative Care team for their kindness, care and support shown to him.