Janet F. Hutchinson

Janet F. Hutchinson (nee Adkins) age 74, passed away on March 13, 2023, after a long battle with dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease while under the loving care at Legacy Place in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota.  Janet was born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota.  She graduated from Sibley Senior High School, Class of 1966.  She moved to Riverside, California and lived there for 25 years.  She raised two daughters, who both joined the United States Marine Corps.  Janet was extremely proud of her daughter’s service to our country and looked for any opportunity to tell everyone about them.  Jan moved back to Minnesota in 1995.

Janet lived her life unapologetically from the very beginning.  As a small child, she often left kindergarten if her father was not sitting in the classroom with her.  She maintained this free-spirited attitude her entire life.  Janet never had a formal career, but there was never a time that you would catch her not working.  She was a self-taught “Jill of all trades”; from building her first truck from only the frame to making her own peach ice cream using the peaches she herself grew, Janet was never afraid of an adventure and the opportunity to challenge herself in anyway.

Janet had a wide variety of interests, including reading, gardening, baking, fishing, playing poker and taking her four-legged friends on road trips to wherever the beer was cold, the hotels were cheap, and Rod Stewart was playing on the radio.  She would make friends along the way, from all walks of life.  Once a friend, always a friend; Janet was fiercely loyal for life.  Many were drawn to Janet because of her infectious personality.  Even when the disease robbed her of everything she loved her personality shined through until the very end.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Eldon and Delores; stepmother, Georgia; grandson, Landon Kohler; sister, Judith Riese; stepbrother, Jon Wille; brother-in-law, Ronald Gross; many aunts, uncles and friends.  She will be deeply missed by her daughters, Donna (Steve) Kohler, Barbara (Byron) Lucas; grandchildren, Brianna and Bryce Lucas; sister, Joanne Gross; stepsisters, Kim Pfoser, Cyndi Dirtzu, Pam (Kerry) Guerin; stepbrother, Jerry (Mary) Wille; many other family and friends including her best friends, Joanie Callender, Susie Hansen, and special family friend, Judy “Martha” Anaya. 

A gathering to celebrate Jan’s life will be held beginning at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, June 3, 2023 at the Hugo Legion Post 620, 5383 140^th Street North, Hugo, Minnesota 55038.

In lieu of flowers, Janet’s daughters would request donations be directed to Rescued Pets Are Wonderful (RPAW), PO Box 490201, Blaine, Minnesota 55449.  Jan’s loyal companion, Maya never left Jan’s side.  When Jan’s health began to fail, RPAW found a loving home for her to live out her senior years, which was a blessing to Jan and the family.