Rosa Ellen Hutcheson
Rosa Ellen Oakley Hutcheson entered the Gates of Heaven on Sunday, November 3, 2024.
Rosa was a beloved daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, great- grandmother, and friend to many.
Rosa was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma on August 7, 1927 as an only child to Sue and Jack (George) Oakley.
Following high school graduation, she attended Texas Women’s College, now Texas Women’s University. Upon graduation, she was recruited to teach in the oil-boom town of Andrews, Texas. Rosa was the high school girls’ physical education teacher and coached volleyball, basketball, and track.
Rosa met “Doc Hutch” (Dr. Zenas Willard Hutcheson, Jr) at First Baptist Church in Andrews. They married on October 26, 1949 and enjoyed a deeply committed partnership and marriage for 60 years before his death in 2009. Many community organizations were formed in Rosa’s home as she and Doc Hutch were committed to making their oil field town a community that provided for its citizens. She served with dauntless determination to ensure a quality education for all local children, serving as both a member of the Andrews Independent School Board, and, eventually, as the president of the board. When health education was mandated by the state in all public high schools, Rosa went back to school, obtaining a master’s degree in health. Rosa successfully worked with others to integrate the schools. She taught Sunday School for many years, volunteered in her children’s classes, and served as a Girl Scout leader. When her four children wanted to swim competitively, Rosa served as the team swim coach until a permanent coach could be found. She seized every opportunity to cheer on her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
With a great spirit for adventure, Rosa loved to travel. She organized mission trips for Doc Hutch and her to serve in hospitals in Yemen and Honduras, relieving missionary doctors. She loved spending time in the mountains of New Mexico. Rosa loved to golf with friends and she had lifelong bridge groups, both in Andrews and in Amarillo, where she and Doc Hutch moved in 1999.
Rosa served as matriarch of her large family, consisting of four children and their spouses, fifteen grandchildren and twenty-eight greatgrandchildren. She is survived by daughter Deborah Cone (Jeff), granddaughter Whitneyrose Upchurch (Jamie), grandson Jeffrey Cone (Mary Kat), granddaughter Meredith Austin (Luke), grandson Cameron Cone (Katie), and grandson Barrett Cone (Natalie); daughter Candace Harter (Pete), granddaughter Ellie Kitt (John), grandson Jake Harter (Katina), and granddaughter Hannah Parker (Barrett); son Zenas Hutcheson, III (Susanne), grandson Zenas IV, grandson Henry Hutcheson (Sarah), and granddaughter Perrin Arner (Geoff); daughter Michal Powell, granddaughter Abigail Foose (David), grandson Gideon Powell (Felicia), grandson Luke Powell (Jamie), and grandson Caleb Powell; Great grandchildren include Evelyn, Maeve, Guinevere, and Eloise Upchurch; Cutter, Margot, Charlotte and Beatrice Cone; Faith, Adelynn, Katherine, and Blake Austin; Levi Cone; Dallas Harter; Talmadge and Tabor Parker; Eddie Hutcheson; Lydia, Joanna, and Caleb; Avery and Mia Matthews, Asa and Micah Powell; Hallie, Lilah, and Isabelle Powell. She is also survived by a nephew, John Hutcheson, of Pensacola, FL.
Rosa is predeceased by her husband, Doc Hutch, and her sonin- law Loyd Powell.
The family would like to express their immense gratitude for her friends and caregivers at The Sycamore at Park Central in Amarillo for the wonderful care she received for 4 years.
Donations in Rosa’s honor may be made to any of her favorite charities: Heal the City, Amarillo Children’s Home, The Salvation Army, and First Baptist Church Andrews Mission Fund.
The memorial service will be at 10:00 a.m. on November 9th at the Ivy Chapel in Amarillo. The burial service will be in Andrews, Texas, at 3:30 p.m. at Andrews County Cemetery.
