Elisabeth “Lisa” Hartley Hutchinson

Elisabeth “Lisa” Hartley Hutchinson, 89 died September 30, 2019.  Born to Guilford and Sarah Hartley on April 20, 1930 in Duluth, MN. The eldest of four children, Lisa attended the Lab school in Duluth, Dana Hall in Wellesley, MA and Bennett Junior College in Millbrook, NY.

She is preceded in death by her parents and sister Ann Del Tufo of Brookside NJ.  Survived by her 6 children Elisabeth “Morgan” of Tucson AZ, Allen of Cooperstown ND, Laura Jonson of Lakeville MN, Carrie (Mark) Brown of Duluth, Brook (Steve Dykhuizen) Maple Plain MN, Charles, Minnetonka MN.  She dearly loved her grandchildren Christopher, Matthew, Melanie (Seth), Case, Sarah Piper, Ry, Emily (Kelly) William, Anna, Nikolas and Ava, great grandchildren Kaitlyn, Logan, Christine, Sam and Oliver, and great -great- grandchild Ella.

She is also survived by her sister Sally Sneve and brother Roger Hartley, both from Duluth.  11 wonderful nieces and nephews, Katherine, Roger, Philip, Sarah, Barbara, Ann, David, Robert, Eric, Graham, Sarah Lee, and extended family members Sherrie Swanson, Todd Jonson, and Lynette Hutchinson were also very near to her heart.

She was an avid tennis player and member of Duluth Indoor Tennis where she enjoyed friendly competition late into her eighties. She was an active member of the Kitchi Gammi Club, the Old Fashion’s, Red Flannel Petticoats, and the Junior League of Duluth.  She was a prolific artist and member of the Duluth Art Institute and a founding member of the Duluth Congregational Church where she served on many committees and sang in the choir for over 40 years. Lisa was also was an accomplished skier and enjoyed swimming and gardening.

Her father Guilford instilled in her a great love for the outdoors, flying, hunting and competitive trap shooting together.   She was a competitive shooter for many decades shooting her last round of sporting clays at 87 breaking 25/50 only because her arms got tired.  She earned State trap titles in 1948, 50, and 51 and was a two-time national runner up. She was an accomplished marksman, often outshooting the men.  She was a successful and skilled hunter and enjoyed harvesting big game in MN and WY and traveled extensively throughout the northern United States and central Canada in pursuit of waterfowl and upland game.

She and her family and friends spent a great deal of time at Wolf Lake and the Sugar Camp.  They together enjoyed the beaches of Eleuthera and the property on Buccaneer Hill. The children were raised at 2601 and later congregated frequently on Schultz lake - all places she cherished.  She was a staunch supporter behind all the passionate pursuits of her children and those of her friends and their families.   She was a people person extraordinaire, a joiner, a fan, a learner of new things. Her family and friends were extremely important to her and she was very rich in that regard.  She was truly young at heart and will be missed dearly by all.

A special memorial fund has been established in coordination with the Rajala Woods Foundation (RWF) and the Hartley Nature Center (HNC) to further the effort to maintain and restore the White pine forest in Northern Minnesota, an effort Lisa was passionate about.  “Lisa’s White Pines” has been established as a feature item on the HNC website to collect memorial donations in her honor. We invite everyone to participate in this special project this coming Spring when planting White Pines is best and annually on or around the memorial date for a bud capping effort.   The HNC and the RWF are both registered as 501(c)(3).

The Hartley Nature Center, c/o Lisa’s White Pines, 3001 Woodland Ave. Duluth MN 55803. 218-724-6734. www.Hartleynature.org

Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11, at Dougherty Funeral Home, Duluth. Visitation will continue from 10-11 a.m., followed by a service at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 12, at Duluth Congregational Church 3833 E. Superior St., Duluth, MN  55805.  Arrangements by Dougherty Funeral Home, 600 E 2nd St.  Duluth, MN.  (218) 727-3555.