Baker City, Oregon
Billy Joe “Bud” Hutton, 69, a longtime Baker City resident, died Jan. 14, 2002, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
There will be a family gathering later. Disposition was by cremation at Gray’s West Pioneer Crematory.
Mr. Hutton was born Jan. 16, 1932, at Lebanon, Mo., to Claude and Gertie Caffey Hutton. He graduated from Phoenix High School in Phoenix, Ore. He was a member of the Honor Society and served as student body president. He received the Elks scholarship for “Most Valuable Student.”
He attended Southern Oregon University at Ashland, where he played freshman and varsity football. He was drafted into the U.S. Army on Dec. 4, 1952. He attended Southwestern Signal Regional Training Center at San Luis Obispo, Calif., where he received the highest score ever obtained on the final exam. He then served as a repeaterman until his discharge in June of 1954.
He married Jane Cooper in Reno, Nev., on Nov. 3, 1956. They made their home in the Rogue Valley until July of 1974 when they moved to Baker City.
Mr. Hutton worked for the Fountain Lumber Co. and Norman Lumber Co. at Phoenix, and Gardner’s Machine Shop in Medford. He was a partner with Bob Ferns in the auto tuneup business named Checkpoint.
After moving to Baker City he owned and operated Hutton Machine & Supply, H&M Machine and Baker City Machine & Supply Inc. In October 1986 he began working for Marvin Wood Products. He would have retired at the end of January 2002 with a perfect attendance record.
Mr. Hutton was a former member of the Salvage Creek Archery Club, Rogue Valley Racing Association, Sumpter Valley Ghost Riders, and Oregon State Snowmobile Association. He was a life member of the Sumpter Valley Railroad, 25-year member of the Elks Lodge, No. 338, in Baker City, and the Baker County Historical Society.
He was preceded in death by a daughter, Debra Lynn Hutton; his parents, Claude and Gertie Hutton; aunts and uncles; and a brother-in-law, Paul Betz.
Survivors include his wife, Jane Hutton of Baker City; son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Debra Hutton and their children, Stephanie, Michelle and Brian Hutton, all of Baker City; a daughter, Billie Hopkins, and her children, Sierra and Cody Hopkins of Enterprise; and sisters and brothers-in-law, Jewell and Paul Inserra of Medford, and Claudia and Jim Perry of Eagle Point.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Sumpter Valley Railroad, Billy Payton Memorial Fund, Phoenix High School Teens and 50’s Grant in Aid through Gray’s West & Co., P.O Box 726, Baker City OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, January 18, 2002
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor