BEVERLY: Geraldine E. “Geri” (Ball) Hutchinson, 89, died peacefully Thursday, December 27, 2012 at Essex Park with her daughters, Linda and Sharon and grandson, David by her side. She was the wife of the late Joseph J. Hutchinson who died in 1983.
Born in Beverly on May 13, 1923, she was the daughter of the late Bertram and Geraldine (Merrill) Ball. She was a lifelong resident of Beverly and a graduate of Beverly High School.
Geri learned basic crochet from her grandmother, Nana Frost and learned to make intricate doilies from one of the patients when she worked at Cedar Glen; she’d always have her hooks and yarn at hand, even at weekly bingo games. Geri was a natural caregiver at home and work. She raised five children with an unwavering and loving hand, and after Cedar Glen she worked as a Home Health Aide privately and through intercity Homemaker Services, Inc. Geri became a Catholic in order to marry Joseph J. Hutchinson. Her love of God and belief in the power of prayer became an inspiration to many. She had wonderful sense of humor and was a consummate cribbage player. Her grandsons would line up on holidays for a chance of possibly being the first to defeat the legend she’d become. She left this world, hoping to be remembered as someone who loved everyone; left her family with the task of carrying on her beliefs that the secret to living a happy life is knowing its yours for the making, that prayer can move mountains and with her cribbage record intact.
She is survived by her daughters, Linda Purdy and Sharon Hutchinson; a son, Ronald Hutchinson; thirteen grandchildren, including, Paula Purdy; many great-grandchildren; a daughter-in-law, Joan Hutchinson and several nieces and nephews. She was also predeceased by her two sons, Roger and Joseph Hutchinson, a sister, Leona Wood and two brothers, Chet Ball and Harrison “Harry” Ball.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, January 1st in St. John the Evangelist Church, New Balch St., Beverly at 10 a.m. There are no visiting hours. A celebration of her life with be held on her birthday in May. Expressions of sympathy may be made in her memory to the charity of one’s choice.