Phyllis "Barney" (Shaw) Hutchins

Phyllis H. Hutchins, fondly known as “Barney”, passed away on March 14, 2023 at Backus Hospital in Norwich.  She was 88 years old.  Phyllis was born in Carthage, NY on May 26, 1934, a daughter of the late Luther and Clara (Charron) Shaw.  She grew up and attended school at St. Augustinian Academy in Carthage and then earned her nursing degree from the Good Samaritan School of Nursing.  After graduation, Phyllis worked at both the Carthage and Good Samaritan Hospitals before moving to Connecticut where she worked for a time at the Newington VA Hospital and later for the Colchester Nursing and Rehab Center.  Phyllis truly loved caring for others as a nurse.  Her career was a labor of love and she pursued it for more than 30 years.  Phyllis married Richard Hutchins on January 30, 1954 when the couple began a lifetime of love and adventure.  They moved their family to Amston, CT in 1966 and then on to Colchester in 1970 where they settled in to raise their seven children. They returned to Carthage for a time after retiring.  They shared 61 years together before Richard predeceased her on March 17, 2015.  A woman of faith, Phyllis was a communicant of St. Andrew Church in Colchester. She was an avid fan of the Yankees baseball and the UCONN Basketball teams.  In her free time, she loved playing cards with her family, where she usually held the winning hand.  Phyllis loved to bowl and played with several Leagues over the years.  She also loved to travel, do word puzzles, sit quietly with a good book, or plant flowers in her own front yard.  Most importantly, she loved to spend time with her 7 children, 15 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren.  The legacy she leaves which gave her the greatest pride and joy.  Her loss will be felt by all who knew her but she will be remembered always with love by her children and their spouses, Donald (Janice) Hutchins, of Colchester, David (Andie) Hutchins of Lebanon, Ronald (Dee-Anne Saitta) Hutchins of Colchester, Laurie (Mark) Winter of S. Chesterfield, VA, Elaine (Gary) Tredor of Colchester, Sally (Jean) Fauteux of Lebanon; 15 grandchildren, Dawn, Matthew, Ken, Kevin, Sean, Melissa, April, Emily, Rachael, Jennifer, Michael, Karen, Chelsea, Crystal and Chantal; 23 great grandchildren; her God daughter and niece, Karen Gulick; and a host of extended family members and friends.  In addition to her husband and parents, she was predeceased by a daughter, Linda Dickey and three siblings, Burton Shaw, Clinton Shaw and Doris Hall.  Calling hours will be held at the Aurora-McCarthy Funeral Home, 167 Old Hartford Rd., Colchester on March 17th from 4 – 6 PM.  The funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, March 18th at 10:30 am directly at St. Andrew Church 128 Norwich Ave., Colchester. Donations in her memory may be made to Disabled American Veterans www.dav.org, or Boys Town www.support.boystown.org or American Cancer Society www.cancer.org  To sign the online guest book or share a memory of Phyllis, please visit  www.auroramccarthyfuneralhome.com

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