Jan Hutchings

Funeral services for Mrs. Janice "Jan" Faye Hutchings, 66 of Baxter, will be held Friday September 6 at 11 a.m. in the Baxter Chapel of Hooper-Huddleston & Horner Funeral Home with Rev. T. J. Bennett officiating. Interment will follow in Odd Fellows Cemetery. Mrs. Hutchings died Tuesday morning September 3, 2013 in Cookeville Regional Medical Center. A life-long resident of Baxter, she was born July 14, 1947 in Putnam County to Mrs. Marie Austin Swallows of Cookeville and the late James Carl Swallows. A teacher at heart, she had a ready word of advice for all those she knew and loved, with the ambition of enhancing the lives of those around her. Her people-building tendencies manifested themselves in a 35 year career in teaching at Upperman High School, where she led Home Economics and related subjects and invested many years as a guidance counselor. Her degrees in education and counseling prepared her to support hundreds of students who were drawn to her as a "cool" and trusted confidant, and she enjoyed following their progress and family developments through the years. She appreciated art, music, cooking, time with family, reading and travel. She was an encouraging, generous presence who enjoyed opportunities to laugh and celebrate other's successes. She was a member of Baxter Methodist Church. In addition to her father, she was preceded in death by her husband, Erbi Gene Hutchings who she was married to from 1982 until his death in 2009. In addition to her mother, her family includes her brother and sister-in-law, Jerry and Linda Swallows, of Baxter, Lisa Norris (niece) and her extended family, and Karen (niece) and Shane Allen, with their children Evan, Claire, Paul and Samuel, stepson and daughter-in-law, Steve and Amy Hutchings, and grandson Kyle and Alyson Hutchings and extended Hutchings family members. She maintained close connections and lifelong friendships with her cousins Ernestine Allen, Brenda and Bill Waller, Jim and Judy Brown, Terry and Shirley McReynolds, Steve and Sandy Austin and their extended families as well. Pallbearers will be family and friends. Mrs. Hutchings family will receive friends Thursday from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. until service time at the Baxter Chapel.