Helen Mary Hutchins
December 22, 1938 - November 26, 2015
San Francisco native and force of nature, Helen Hutchins passed away quickly on Thanksgiving Day, one month shy of her seventy-seventh birthday. The youngest of three children, Helen Mary De la Paz was born on December 22, 1938 to Rosa Ramirez of El Salvador and Feliciano De la Paz of the Philippines. With her brother Maurice and her sister Rose, she grew up on Willow Street in the Fillmore District. In 1959, she married Kermit Calvin Hutchins, a jazz musician from Oklahoma. They bought a small house on Bronte Street in Bernal Heights, and had two children, Charles in 1964 and Renee in 1971. Always active at her children’s schools, she was one of the “yard mothers” at Paul Revere Elementary, watching over the kids and ringing her bell at the first sign of mischief. Although she and Kermit later divorced, they remained friends for life and continued to attend each other’s family gatherings. Helen worked as an accounting clerk for Transamerica Insurance Company on the 10th floor of the famous pyramid building but had to stop working prematurely when she experienced early symptoms of lupus.
Over the next few decades, Helen would overcome lupus, transient ischemic attacks, depression, and throat cancer. In 2008, she had a laryngectomy, which left her unable to use her voice. She quickly learned to speak using an electrolarynx and didn’t let her disability limit her zest for life. With each health challenge, she became more feisty, indulging her passion for exercise, ceramics, movies, TV crime dramas, garage sales, street fairs, and great food. She was famous in Bernal Heights, at Kaiser, at her support groups, and at the Stonestown YMCA. Neighborhood families often saw her out and about with her grandchildren, Karisa and Omar.
A week before she passed, she and her niece did a zumba workout followed by water exercise and weight training – then burritos! Two days before she passed, she sat in on ninth grade biology with Omar, and, along with his three other grandparents, enjoyed a hearty lunch at the Lick-Wilmerding High School cafeteria. The last library books she checked out were Life Itself by Roger Ebert, a new biography of Malcolm X, a Hispanic-American history book, and a soup cookbook. She lived her last day celebrating with her rambunctious family, enjoying good food and joyous company.
Family and friends are invited to celebrate her life on December 20th at the Stern Grove Clubhouse from noon to 3:00 pm. Wear bright colors! In lieu of flowers, we ask that you work out, eat a great meal, and help a friend.