BEATRICE CHEW HUTCHESON KAMPMANN
1922-2020
Beatrice (Beechie) Chew Hutcheson Kampmann passed away on July 20,
2020 in Houston, Texas. She was born on April 18, 1922 at the U. S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Capt. Robert S. Chew, U.S.N. and Beatrice Pollock Chew of Jamestown, Rhode Island. Beechie graduated from National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. in
1939 and her beloved Smith College in 1943. She met Lt. Edward Chappell Hutcheson after he was assigned to the Navy radar/flight control installation in Jamestown, following his recovery at the Naval Hospital in nearby Newport from malaria contracted in Guadalcanal. They were married in Jamestown in 1944 and at the end of World War II, returned to his home in Houston, Texas where they resided until his death in 1986. In 1998 she married Ike Simpson Kampmann, Jr. and moved to San Antonio, Texas, which she adored, until his death in January, 2006.
Beechie embodied a wonderful blend of Yankee practicality and Southern charm. As a Navy Junior, she lived in a number of locations but called Jamestown, RI home. While attending Smith College she earned spending money by preparing and selling sandwiches to fellow students. Her Navy connections ran deep as her grandfather, father and brother were all career officers. She obviously preferred certain credentials in spouses as both were native Texans, graduates of prep schools and Princeton University, WW II officers in the Pacific and distinguished lawyers.
For decades, Beechie maintained an avid interest in public policy and education for economically disadvantaged students. In her last weeks, she watched every one of the seniors’ videos of the graduating class of Chinquapin School, one of the many institutions she has supported through the years. She loved conversing with anyone and everyone, regardless of age or social status. For years she hosted large Christmas parties for our extended family, insisting that as individual lives move in different directions it’s important to retain our roots.
Beechie was active in a number of organizations including the Houston Junior League, River Oaks Garden Club, Alamo Heights-Terrell Hills Garden Club, National Society of the Colonial Dames of America, past president of the Smith College Club of Houston and a charter member of the Houston Museum of Natural Science Guild. She was a member of Timely Topics, The Forum and Pilon Club in San Antonio and the Assembly, Bolero, and Terpsichore dance clubs in Houston. She belonged to the The Argyle in San Antonio, Conanicut Yacht Club in Jamestown, RI and was a former member of the San Antonio Country Club, The Forest Club in Houston and Texas Corinthian Yacht Club in Kemah, TX.
She was preceded in death by her sister and brotherin-law, Mary Chew and Stephen Clark Jones and her brother and sisterin-law, Robert S. Chew,
Jr., Capt. U.S.N., ret. and Evelyn Nicholson Houstoun Chew. She is survived by her children, Edward Chappell Hutcheson, Jr. and wife
Ethel of Houston; Beatrice Pollock (Polly) Hutcheson and husband George Rice of Jamestown, RI; Joseph Chappell Hutcheson II and wife Laurie of Plymouth,
MA; six grandchildren, six step-grandchildren, eight great grandchildren, nine step-great grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. Beechie was one of the last survivors of the Greatest Generation and her grace, intellect, interests, generosity, beauty and knowledge will be missed by all.
A memorial service will be scheduled when public gatherings are again permitted. Those wishing may contribute to: Planned Parenthood, 2140 Babcock Rd., San Antonio 78229 or 3601 Fannin, Houston 77004; Neuhaus Education Center, 4433 Bissonnet, Bellaire, TX 77401; and Jamestown, RI Fire Dept. and EMS Division, 50 Narragansett Ave., Jamestown, RI 02835; or the charity of your choice.