Paul Edward Hutson

Paul Edward Hutson was born on December 28, 1994, the youngest in a family of three boys. Along with his brothers, he was homeschooled through middle school, and attended Saint Thomas More Academy in Raleigh for high school, graduating in 2013. Shortly after graduation, he was diagnosed with a form of epilepsy. Paul cheerfully carried the weight of living with these seizures for the past ten years.

He attended East Carolina University from 2013 until 2018, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Paul held a summer internship with Accident Research Specialists in Cary, NC. After this internship he began working with one of the engineers on a significant and long-running project to develop and test a safer design for vehicular underride prevention on tractor trailers; this work continued during his free time until the present day. He was deeply honored to be involved with, and to contribute to, this project.

Upon graduating from East Carolina, Paul was hired by the United States Navy as a civilian engineer and began working as a structural engineer for FRC East at Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point, in Havelock, NC. While working at Cherry Point, Paul obtained his Master of Engineering degree in mechanical engineering from NC State University, graduating with honors in 2020.

In 2021 Paul left FRC East and took a job with Tracker Engineering in support of Northrop Grumman at their Ogden, Utah facilities. Paul made his home in Tremonton, Utah, and his daily commute to work offered beautiful, scenic landscapes which he enjoyed capturing and sharing with his family. For some reason he was often captivated by some natural scene; we have hundreds of pictures from Paul.

In 2022, Paul was hired by Northrop Grumman as a principal engineer where he worked until his death from a seizure on November 26th, 2023. While working for Northrop Grumman, he entered and completed a post-graduate program in Engineering Management at Johns Hopkins University, which he would have finished this week with the final presentation in Baltimore.

From early in his life, he was destined to be an engineer. As a toddler he demonstrated a habitual desire to understand how things worked. He would count the steps as he walked upstairs. He liked to take many things apart, study the pieces, learn how the parts worked together, and then put them back together. At age six, he built a Tupperware trap to catch a squirrel (peanut butter was involved, of course), and he surprised his mother with this ‘captive’ when she stepped out of the shower; the trap had worked perfectly, and he kept the squirrel as a pet for a day.

He was, not surprisingly, interested in mechanics and electronics early on, and he became the family’s personal IT guy, and would handily solve any technological issue we faced. Often, when helping his dad on a house project, Paul would save his dad from aggravation or mishaps with his ability “to see the whole” minutes ahead of his dad. His closet in our home remains full of ‘Paul’s Projects.’

Paul had a knack for helping and teaching others. He had an easy, natural way, and the ability to teach in the way that suited each person best. At ECU he had a job as a teacher's assistant.

Paul was a generous and thoughtful gift-giver. He would find unique gifts on his adventures that suited each recipient well. No gift was ever cliché or generic; for instance, he would find something that was a part of one’s hobby and which could be put to good use.

The last person Paul would talk about was himself; he always put the focus of the conversation on whomever he was talking with, and made them feel like the most important person in the room. He wanted to learn everything about anything, no matter what the subject. Honest, loyal, and doggedly hardworking in both his work and friendships, he habitually lived a life of self-gift. He made friends easily and kept his friendships active. He enjoyed working out, pushing himself to new personal weightlifting records. Paul met many of his closest friends through the gym, bonding over their shared passion for fitness.

He is survived by his parents, Bill and Joanne, brothers Jim and Jack, sister-in-law Megan, nephew Luke, Grandparents Jim and Anne Rouse. The love of his life was Jean Zsadanyi, who lives in Wilmington. He enjoyed getting to know and spending time with Jean’s family. Paul and Jean shared many wonderful adventures together and seemed a natural fit for each other. A love cut short.

A funeral Mass to give thanks to God for Paul's life will be held on Monday, December 4, at 11:00 am at St. Michael Catholic Church in Cary, NC. There will be visitation hours the evening before, Sunday, December 3, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home in Cary, NC.

Immediately following the Funeral Mass, there will be a luncheon and reception at the parish Center at Saint Michael's.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests you consider making a donation to the St. Thomas More Academy Scholarship Fund in memory of Paul Hutson, 3109 Spring Forest Road, Raleigh, NC 27616, attn. Ann Cureton.

May Paul rest in peace, may his memory be cherished, and may his friendly way be imitated.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared below for the Hutson family.