Vernon F. Hutchins

Vernon F. Hutchins, age 84 of Nashville, Ark. passed away Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017 in Ashdown, Ark. He was born April 17, 1933 in England, Ark. to the late Mitchell Lee and Ida Jane Hutchins. Preceding him in death were his brothers Wesley, Royce, Troy, Dale and Aubrey Hutchins, his sister, Viola Houser, and one great-granddaughter Faith. His survivors include his beloved wife of 60 years, Patsy Smart Hutchins of Carlisle; three daughters, Sonia Garrison and husband, David, of Colo., Mona Hardin and husband, Kenny, of Nashville, Ark., Taran Hutchins and husband, Coach Brad Beerwinkel, of Houston; and only son Toby Hutchins and wife, Pam, of Friendship. He will be greatly missed by his 10 grandchildren of whom he was so proud – Jeremiah Garrison, Seneca Garrison, Amanda Garrison, Marcus Garrison, Lana Halter, Devin Robinson, Haley Helm, Jeremy Ring, Jason Ring, and Gary Ring and 10 great-grandchildren. He has one surviving brother, Clark Hutchins and wife, Geraldine; and sister-in-law Caroylin Hutchins, and a ton of very special cousins, nieces, and nephews. Pamela Hamilton became a special member of Coach's family during the last two years of his life as his caregiver, walking and singing partner, milkshake getter, bird watching buddy and doing anything else she could to make him happy. For everyone that knew Vernon Hutchins, you knew him as "Coach" and fulfilling his last request won't come as a surprise. When Coach was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, he decided to donate his body to science and always said he didn't want a funeral, he would rather the money be used to help somebody. We are honoring his request and sharing this short story of his life in place of his funeral. Vernon was born and raised in England, Ark. along with six brothers and one sister. Vernon hated school so much he decided to quit at the age of 17 and join the Marines (which is funny because he spent 43 years coaching/teaching and loved every minute of it). After serving three years, he hitch-hiked home and finished high school then headed to Henderson State University. During the next four years he fell in love with Patsy Smart and found his passion for football/track. After graduating college at Henderson, Vernon and Patsy married and over the next several years they had four children (Sonia, Mona, Toby, and Taran). Luckily, we all enjoyed the life of a coach's family, which involved attending lots and lots of football games, track meets, basketball games, moving every 3 or 4 years, and meeting many lifelong friends. Coach would be upset if we didn't mention the valuable role Patsy played in his life. She was the one that made it possible for him to fulfill so many of his coaching dreams. She always took care of the kids, spent hours mending football uniforms, ran the house on a shoestring budget, and most of all made a wonderful home for our family. Our parents were both saved during their first year of marriage and together they set a great example for our family. Coach spent the next 43 years coaching at Iowa Park, Texas; North Little Rock, Ark.; Stamps, Ark: Commerce, Texas; Canton, Texas; Camden, Ark.; Arkadelphia, Ark.; Russellville, Ark.; Ashdown, Ark.; Fouke, Ark.; Mt. Pleasant, Texas; Richmond-Rosenburg, Texas; Dierks, Ark.; and finished up volunteering at Henderson State University. During those years he enjoyed many successful years and several not so successful years but he loved each and every long, hard day. Coach was a part of many championships, earned awards, and was inducted into the Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame, which all meant a lot to him, but the hard practices and watching the players and runners improve and develop was always his favorite part. We would like to mention some of achievements Coach had a part in because he worked so hard trying to improve every team he coached and himself as well. Stamps – Track 1964 State Class B runner-up and Class B State Champions in 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1968. He was named outstanding Track Coach in 1966 and 1968. At Camden High School, he coached two Class AAA State Champions in 1973 and 1974. He was the AHSCA Outstanding Track Coach in 1973 and 1974. In 1976 he was named District V Track Coach of the Year.  In 1992, he coached Fouke to the Track Class A State Runner-up. In 2002 he was surprised with the honor of being inducted into the Arkansas Track and Field Hall of Fame. There were lots of winning football seasons and honors as well. If you were one of his players you probably got tired of hearing words like Pride, Dedication, Commitment, Believe, etc. but he believed if you worked hard enough and did your best – win or lose – you had something to be proud of. The most important part of his job was trying to make sure his players carried those beliefs and principles with them. Coach also believed that as a Christian he had a responsibility to share his faith in God with his players and we pray that many of them carried that with them as well. Over the years, there have been many players that took the time to call or visit Dad and Mom and these visits really meant the world to them. Another passion our parents enjoyed was taking some of the worst houses in town and bringing them back to life – partly out of necessity but mostly because they loved it. During their 60 years of marriage, they enjoyed remodeling over 35 houses. Every town we moved to they would find an old run down house that needed some love and between the two of them they would turn it into a beautiful home for our family and then they would sell it and start over again (we think they were the original Fixer Uppers). It was important to our Dad for us to spend time with our extended family as well. We went on lots of camping trips and vacations with his brothers' and sister's families unless we were in the play-offs. Thanksgiving and Christmas were always spent with our extended families. Every year we have a huge family reunion at his grandparents' old home place which is one of his favorite places and where our family is placing a special bench in his honor. Coach always made sure our family had a church home in every town we lived in. He served as a deacon in several of the churches. He always wanted to be a contributing member of the choir and although he made a very joyful noise unto the Lord most of the song leaders asked him if he would just lip sync. We always enjoyed long car trips because Mom and Dad would always sing the whole way. After retiring and settling back in Arkadelphia, he and Patsy joined Gideons International where Dad spoke at many churches explaining their mission and raising money to provide Bibles in colleges, hotels, nursing homes, etc. Our family made many very special friends who have remained dear and close to our hearts. Alzheimer's has a way of bringing the things that were the most important in your life and leaving the others behind. Most of us would think that Coach would have sat and watched football game after football game, track meets, and golf but over time he didn't even remember what football was or that he ever loved the game. What he did remember was that God loved him and was going to take care of him. We were very fortunate that God allowed Coach to get the kindest spirit as his Alzheimer's progressed. He appreciated everything anybody did for him, loved having Patsy by his side, watching birds, looking at the beautiful flowers and trees, taking walks, and he never got tired of eating his vanilla ice cream. After a while he didn't remember who we were but he still remembered who God was and up until a few weeks ago he would still say his prayers. Our family would like to thank every player, parent, coach, school staff member, and even his critics that we met through the years for letting our Dad live his dream. He made it possible for us to have a great life and tons of wonderful memories. A special thanks goes to our mother who has been completely dedicated to Dad. She has tirelessly and lovingly took care of him during his illness and we will always be grateful. While looking through lots of old newspaper articles and yearbooks we came across an article written by Kelly Blair in 2002 that we feel pretty much sums up Coach, "I'm just an old country boy that loved to work, and I think I was able to instill a good work ethic in all the teams that I had. I see a lot of them who have been very successful in life after school. I think that is why God called me to the ministry, and I think coaching is ministry." In lieu of flowers Coach Hutchins would be honored by gifts to any of your favorite charities or one of his:  Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org), Fellowship of Christian Athletes (www.fca.org), Gideons International (www2.gideons.org), Global Gates (www.globalgates.info), or your local Hospice agency.