Wendy Jane Hutchings

With immense sadness, we announce the death of Wendy Hutchings at mid-day on Sunday, December 7th at Champlain Manor in Orillia after a brief illness. Wife of 67 years to Alexander (‘Al’, predeceased), mother of Jeffrey (predeceased), Stephen, Roslyn (predeceased), Julia (Brian Montgomery), and Jamie, and ‘Nanny’ of Alexandra Hutchings.

Born Wendy Jane Simpson to parents Ernest and Dorothy on February 1st, 1935, Mom grew up near The Kingsway in Toronto’s west end, attending Lambton Kingsway Public School and later Branksome Hall, where she made lifelong friendships that endure to this day. While earning her diploma in Physical and Occupational Therapy from the University of Toronto, she moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia for a work term and there met Dad on a blind date arranged by a friend - and married him 16 months later! After two years in Toronto, they relocated to Orillia in 1958 (where Dad would teach high school for 28 years); here they made their home, raised five children, and remained throughout their retirement.

Mom loved the natural world - whether it was moss, mushrooms, or butterflies, or the sound of sparrows, frogs, or loons. She loved to look at the moon, to walk the trails around Orillia, and to watch the birds at her feeders. As some of the earliest members of the Orillia Naturalists Club, she and Dad enjoyed many outings over the past four decades.

Another passion of Mom’s was local history, both of Orillia and Muskoka, where she spent summers as a girl and where she and Dad bought a cottage on Gull Lake, Gravenhurst, in 1966. A long-time member of the Orillia Historical Society (and later the Orillia Museum of Art and History), Mom became an expert on old houses, postcards, and even the mysterious tunnels under the downtown streets. But she was also fascinated by the origins of her summer home, leading her to publish “Early Days on Gull and Silver Lakes” in 1995 - a book which has since made it onto the shelves of many area cottagers.

Mom served for years in the Y’s Menettes, the University Women’s Club, and the Orillia Concert Association, and volunteered her time with many charities and organizations, including the Orillia Public Library and St. James Anglican Church as recently as 2020 at the age of 85.

She loved to read, both for education and fun (detective mysteries in particular), and always looked forward to the regular bridge nights with “the girls” - a tradition she’d enjoyed for 47 years! Neighbours knew Mom as someone who always had a smile and who took a genuine interest in those around her. Even after she lost our father, the love of her life, she would sit on the front step saying hello to anyone who walked by, ready as ever to share a bit of warmth and good wishes.

To us, she was a loving, supportive mother and grandmother who loved us unconditionally. Someone who encouraged us to grow, and to find something that could make us happy in life, whatever that might be. The one who sang “I See the Moon” to us as kids, who always waved goodbye to us from the window as adults, and who called us “Sweetie” all our lives.

Goodbye, Mom. We will love you forever.

Visitation will be held at the Mundell Funeral Home, 79 West St. N., Orillia on Friday, December 12th from 1 p.m. until time of memorial service in the chapel at 3 p.m. For those unable to attend the service at the Funeral Home, you may watch via Livestream by clicking on the following link to register your device.https://event.forgetmenotceremonies.com/ceremony?c=38ffa0c1-3c27-483a-a986-084ca3cb8d2b

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sharing Place Food Centre, Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, or a charity of your choice. Messages of condolence are welcomed at www.mundellfuneralhome.com