Marlene Margaret (Larson) Hutchins

Marlene Margaret Hutchins

Age 83 of St. Paul, passed away peacefully on Friday May 29. Survived by brother Roger Larson, daughters Leslie Hissam (Pat Hicks) and Dawn (George) Mountin, Leslie's son William (Emily) Mellingen; and great-grandchildren Breanna, Elisa, Hailey and Landon. She is also survived by four step-daughters and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family members, that she loved very much.

Marlene Hutchins was born Marlene Margaret Larson, on February 8th, 1937, in St Paul, Mn.  She was named Marlene, for Marlena Dietrich – and Margaret – after her maternal grandmother Margit, who traveled from Norway, by herself, at the age of 23. Her parents were Herb and Mae – both 1st generation Americans.  She was raised on the west side of St Paul and graduated from Humboldt High School in 1955.

Marlene married in 1956 and had her girls, Leslie and Dawn. She divorced in 1962, remarried and divorced again in 1967.  She spent many years battling numerous health issues and when she finally regained her health, began working and enjoying her life – making up for time lost.

Over the years, Marlene’s hobbies included drawing and painting, hot air ballooning and power walking at the Mall of America. She loved a good margarita – no salt or filberts, please. She liked to play cards, but would whine a little (just a little), if she wasn’t winning. She had a great smile and loved to laugh.

In 1978, she began a 19 year relationship with a man named Jack Fleming.  They became engaged, but their plans and his life was cut short, when he passed away in 1997.

She worked at Smith Ambulance for several years and then at Deloitte and Touche for many years, until she retired in 1998. She made many friends and participated in many after-work activities.

Marlene turning 60 and Jack’s passing became catalysts for her decision to retire and move to Mesa, Arizona in February 1998. She never liked the cold Minnesota winters and moving to Arizona also meant she would be closer to her much-loved baby brother Roger – or Rajo – as she called him (her entire life), since he lived in Chandler, Arizona.

In Arizona, Marlene thrived and loved the year-round warm weather.  She participated in a variety of community events and made many dear, close friends.  She loved to play water volleyball and go on outings to the theater and numerous area festivities. She loved to sing in her church’s choir.

Marlene’s daughters have both settled down with significant others – Leslie, with Pat Hicks and Dawn with her husband, George Mountin. Leslies’ son, William is married to Emily and between them, they have four children, Bre, Elise, Hayley and Landon.

In Arizona, Marlene worked part-time for Meals on Wheels and through that job, met a man named Bill Hutchins.  They had fun together playing golf, going out to eat with their fellow retirees and traveling in their camper. They married in October 2003.  Bill has 4 daughters – Jan, Susan, Tammie and Lisa and a large extended family that Marlene spent 16 years getting to know and love. They lived very full lives and were always busy doing something with someone.

In 2006, Marlene and Bill added a new member to their family – their little Willie – a Bichon Shih-Tzu that they both spoiled with lots of love, pizza and bacon. When he passed away in 2019, Marlene and Bill were both devastated.

As both Bill and Marlene’s health started to decline, they moved to Iowa, to be closer to Bill’s family. For many years, they enjoyed vacationing on Leech Lake in Minnesota and spending time with all of their girls and grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Eventually, Bill’s daughters took on the roles of care-givers to both Marlene and Bill and in 2019, it became obvious that they needed to move into an assisted living facility.  They lived at Eden Crest in Ankeny, Iowa, until December 2019, when Bill passed away from numerous health issues and complications.

In January of this year, Marlene moved to Minnesota to be closer to Leslie and Dawn. She moved into Brookdale Senior Living in W. St. Paul, but was in and out of the hospital and transitional care for a good portion of the time, battling multiple health issues, including congestive heart failure and a case of pneumonia, that her compromised immune system just couldn’t fight. Sadly, she passed away on May 29th.

She is very loved and will be sadly missed, but we are all grateful that she didn’t have to struggle any longer than she did.  She has finally found peace.