Obituary of Maxine Gertrude Hutchinson

Maxine Gertrude Hutchinson 1967 - 2015 We all knew Maxine in different ways and have our own special memoires. Cassie remembers when she was a little girl and couldn't get to sleep her mom would rub her back and sing to her till she fell asleep. Max was loving, kind, compassionate, stubborn at times, and a private person. She was always willing to help anyone. She put down roots in this community among her circle of friends and family. I had the privilege of knowing Max as my friend and neighbor. We met when our daughters were in kindergarten. She and Bill became involved with the school council and soon after we were volunteering for many functions. There were field trips, Bingo's Christmas banquets and many other fund raisers. We also drove to numerous volleyball practices and games. Most knew she didn't like to cook but she joined our Bonanza Hall kitchen crew anyway. We had a lot of laughs. She definitely had a green thumb as was evident when you ventured into the yard and by the jungle in her house. She loved her flowers. Her yard was her haven. Maxine grew up on a dairy farm in Chilliwack, B.C. She loved her animals. Dogs, cats and yes, even horses. Deloris remembers one time when Maxine went missing. She was 3 or 4 years old and had wandered off. Deloris walked the 80 acres looking for her and finally found Max in a pen full of calves, sound asleep beside a calf. Max was a shy, quiet girl growing up with two older brothers to follow around. Frank and Merl. Merl mentioned they all had nicknames and Max's was Pete. As a young girl Max took piano lessons but quit part way thru. That is the one opportunity she made sur her girls had. All three took their piano lessons and I recall Nikki playing at one of the school Christmas concerts. It was a proud moment for Maxine. All three girls have mentioned that on occasion their mom would play for them. Maxine attended elementary school in Chilliwack, B.C., and graduated from high school in Pigeon Lake, Alberta. Thru the years, she kept in touch with her high school classmate and lifelong friend Tammy Lalonde. Max loved to draw roses and doodled on any paper lying around. Deloris said that Max used to have a sketch book and it held many drawings of horses and roses, her favorite flower. She loved to travel and enjoyed photography. These past few years Maxine and Bill had found their way to hotter climates. Life was good. Family camping trips were in Jasper, the Okanagan, local camp grounds and a yearly weekend at Bud Country with friends. Maxine looked forward to the special holidays, time to be with family and friends. Our families would be Christmas tree hunting and always looking for that special tree. On one occasion we ventured too far5 and were soon waist deep in snow. It didn't take long and we were looking for that special tree close to the road. She loved Christmas and a real tree meant Christmas to her. She couldn't wait to set it up and decorate it with her favorite decorations. The ones her girls had made for her. Christmas Eve was always spent with their close friends Clayton and Leeann. Lee was more like Max's sister and Bill gained a brother in Clay. Many evenings were spent around the card table with the guys usually winning but lately the girls were on a winning streak. Over the years Max and Lee would have greenhouse shopping sprees and weekend Christmas shopping trips. They would help Nicole, Brittany and Cassidy color eggs at Easter, carve pumpkins at Halloween and make chocolates for Christmas. They have worked together, laughed together, shared a few cold ones and confided in one another. Thru the years Maxine worked at many places. She was at the CIBC in Ontario, then Penticton and Zellers in Langley. When they moved north she worked at Bonanza General Store, Anadarko, UFA and the Bay Tree General Store. She kept busy. Working, raising three girls and keeping Bill in line. Lately she was busy helping her mom who was fighting cancer. This meant many appointments and doctoring for Deloris. Max would have partial work days, leaving at a moment's notice, changing schedules or just taking the day off. Her colleagues understood her need to help her mom. They, had also become her family and friends. Her life revolved around her family. Her girls could talk honestly and openly to her and could count on her support whatever the situation. If they needed defending her protection could be fierce. She loved them and was proud of them and more than anything their education, success and happiness was top of the list. Britt said, "I always had to test mom. You push her buttons and you push her buttons. But you knew when you had crossed the line when she gave you the LOOK." Maxine and Bill were married August 15, 1987. They never thought they would have children and were married 8 years when Nicole was born. Two years later Brittany was born, with Cassidy following a few years later. Bill and their girls. Maxine's greatest accomplishment. She was proud of Bill, loved him deeply and desired nothing more than to be by his side. They were more than husband and wife, they were friends. Maxine: wife, mom, daughter, sister, colleague, friend. We can't even begin to imagine the grief and devastation that her family are bravely facing. Max died suddenly Sunday, August 16, 2015. She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew and loved her. Maxine believed, "Everything that happens, happens for a reason." I would like to read a paragraph from the poem Desiderata by Max Ehmann. "Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore, be at peace with God whatever you conceive Him to be." Service 3:00 pm Monday, September 14, 2015 Bonanza Community Hall Hwy 719 BONANZA, Alberta, Canada Interment Hillhaven Cemetery Bonanza BONANZA, Alberta, Canada