John Daniel Hutchinson

On April 7th 2023, John Daniel Hutchinson (Dan), our sweet dad, passed away peacefully at Texas Health Alliance in Keller, Texas at the age of 78. Dan was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1944 and lived most of his life there, as well as in Wichita, before he moved to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area in 1967.

He served in the US Air Force during Vietnam, trained at Perrin Air Force base and was stationed in Iceland. Dan was a sergeant and was active for 4 years. Once he left the Air Force, he joined his wife Linda and daughter Lisa in Lubbock, Texas, where he became a Texas Tech Raider fan. Graduating from Tech with his bachelor’s degree was one of his proudest accomplishments. He and his family moved backed to the Dallas area for several years before settling in Midland, Texas, where Dan worked most of his career in Insurance sales. It was during this time that he also achieved his master’s degree from UT Permian Basin. Dan and his family attended Kelview Baptist Church for 10 plus years, where he and Linda served in the youth department. Besides running, Dan was an avid hunter. Dan loved guns and gun safety, in fact, he became an instructor to ensure the proper handling of guns was taught to everyone, including his daughter who didn’t enjoy it at all. One of his favorite stories to tell is about the time he took Lisa to Hunters Safety Course, and she cried for hours because they wanted her to shoot the BB gun – one of Dan’s most frustrating moments but she did it and graduated the course with a nice certificate.

After divorcing Lisa’s mom, Dan moved to Dallas where he met Kathy Riggs. Dan and Kathy married, but she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died shortly after.

Then Dan met Jeanne. They were a perfectly matched pair. Both loved boating and fishing, both have never met a stranger, and both loved their families. Jeanne had 5 children when she met Dan. Her oldest daughter Susan Kay went to Texas A&M (as did Lisa) and now lives in Florida, Wesley is a professional fisherman in Arkansas, Candice talked Dan into raising horses which she still does to this day, and the twins Stephen and Stephanie were 8 years old when Dan can into their lives, so they grew up with Dan as their dad. Lisa is forever grateful for her extended family and how much they loved him.

Dan was also an avid Cowboys fan. He watched every game, every losing season, he was a die hard. In fact, Dan loved the Cowboys so much, he worked at Texas Stadium for years doing security so that he could see the games in person.

Dan was a proud veteran. He served at the Roanoke VFW Post for many years both as a volunteer and as the treasurer. If there was a veteran event happening in town, Dan was there. He was not biased to Air Force, if you served, he loved you and he had stories to share.

Dan has two sisters (Carol Ann Murphy, Cheryl Golightly) and two half-brothers (Jim Hutchinson, Kelly Hutchinson). His dad Rex Hutchinson and mom Lola, have both proceeded him in death, as has his sister Carol and nephew Chad. We find comfort that he has reunited with them and is free from his achy knees, depression from Vietnam, and a failing heart.

Dan is survived by his daughter, his 5 stepchildren, his little sister, his half-brothers, 2 ex-wives, 16 grandchildren, 1 great granddaughter and many, many friends.

His visitation will be Friday, April 14th at 2pm at the Old Town Keller Funeral Home in Keller, Texas, followed by a service at 3pm. Dan wanted to be buried by his second wife Kathy in Beaumont, Texas. Graveside services will be on Saturday, April 15th at 2pm at Magnolia Cemetery in Beaumont.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Veterans Administration. Dan was a frequent user of both the VA Dallas and Ft. Worth and would be so thrilled if he were able to contribute back to them.

And while John Daniel Hutchinson is gone from this earth, he will never be forgotten, and we cherish the day when we will one day meet again.