James Sterling "Jack" Hutto

Jack was born on August 4, 1929 and was raised in the rural outskirts of Columbus, Georgia. He is preceded in death by his parents, J. S. and Reba Hutto, and his eldest son, J. Sterling Hutto, III.

If you knew him long enough he would amuse you with his many youthful adventures in and around Columbus and the “notorious” Phenix City. Jack was an accomplished storyteller using vivid details giving you the feeling you were actually there.

Jack’s father died when he was young, yet he lived long enough to give his son the insight to take on a variety of jobs allowing him to absorb valuable life experiences. Who knew Jack would choose to become a trial lawyer after being a telephone linesman, a furniture salesman, a butcher in an A & P, a technician with the Georgia Power Company, a clothing salesman, a postal mail carrier and a heavy equipment operator with a landscape company, among others. There were no such things as student loans and these jobs in between periods of schooling paid for his education. He said a professor at Auburn saw the potential in him to be a lawyer and in Jack’s own words told him “to run, not walk to the nearest law school”.

In 1959, he graduated from John Marshall Law School in Atlanta, Georgia and in December passed the Georgia State Bar Exam. His robust work ethic and fearless demeanor served him well when he started his practice of law with Marshall Ewing, an established lawyer in Douglas, Georgia. He arrived on the weekend and tried his first case before a jury the following Monday, and won.

After a couple of years, he sought to further develop his legal talents by moving to Brunswick in 1962. He was a consummate and tenacious trial attorney, both well liked and appreciated by his plaintiff or criminal clients, but certainly a source of anxiety for his opponents.

His prominence established itself in 1969 when he successfully represented Charles Phillip Howser, the President and General Manager of a Minnesota Twins farm team, obtaining his acquittal from a murder charge stemming from a death which occurred on Jekyll Island. The case received national attention and was even reported in the New York Times. Jack was known to do whatever was necessary to fulfill his legal duty to his clients.

After the S. S. African Neptune tragically struck the Sidney Lanier Bridge in November 1972, he represented a number of the victims and their families. Although he brought their cases to very successful conclusions, at one point in the appeals process it required Jack to literally string a clothesline across the Appellate Courtroom and attach his numerous exhibits to it in order to make his case before the judges.

In another trial, a defendant trucking company’s engineer expert insisted from the witness stand that there was no way under the rules of physics that a tire coming off of one of their semi-trucks going in one direction could ever change and end up going 180 degrees in the opposite direction and strike Jack’s client severely injuring him. Unfazed, Jack simply took an ordinary tennis ball from his briefcase, threw it and bounced it off the judge’s bench and back into his hand. The jury immediately saw the logic of Jack’s argument and awarded a verdict for his client. Whatever it took.

As to tenacity, there was no match. It may have taken him 14 years of many appellate twists and turns but Jack collected the largest verdict ever recovered in Glynn County as of 1988 in what he called the “Kemp Case”.

Over his 53 years of practice, he tried and won many cases, both civil and criminal, not only in this southeast region of Georgia but also in Atlanta and in Jacksonville, Florida. He received a number of large verdicts for his plaintiffs and lectured at national civil litigation seminars alongside of other prominent attorneys including Melvin Belli and F. Lee Bailey.

Jack was a member of the Brunswick Glynn County Bar Association, Georgia State Bar Association (Emeritus member), Georgia Trial Lawyers Association (President in 1976), American Trial Lawyers Association and Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys. Besides his legal life, Jack was also involved in civic endeavors as Chairman of the Brunswick Glynn County Charter Consolidation Commission in 1969 and later, along with the Rev. E. C. Tillman, was appointed as a Special Master for the desegregation of Reidsville State Prison by U. S. District Court Judge Anthony A. Alaimo.

He also had political interests, never for himself, but always staunchly in pursuit of providing the best leadership for his county, state and federal governments. Before there was a “real” Republican Party in Glynn County, or in Georgia for that matter, Jack was one of but a handful of faithfully active Republicans. Along with his friend, Bo Callaway, he was a true and stalwart advocate of Republican ideals which formed the firm foundation of today’s solid GOP in Georgia.

He loved sports having played football and basketball in his youth and became an avid tennis player competing in many doubles tournaments at Sea Island and Sea Palms. To all who knew him he was a dedicated Georgia “Bulldawg” fan. Jack got to know the local offshore waters exceptionally well and fished whenever the opportunity arose. Travel was another of his favorite pursuits as he had an intense appetite for learning new and interesting information and meeting people of all kinds. It eventually led him to many faraway places including China, Japan and Russia.

Jack was a one-of-a-kind person who lived a full and rewarding life having touched so many lives in a positive way. He obviously could be tough as nails when his clients or friends needed him to be, yet he was kind and generous. Unknown to many, Jack was a very spiritual person and was a member of the Frederica Baptist Church.

Jack Hutto was bold, brave, courageous, fearless, intrepid and valiant, a learned man and a veritable scholar of life.

On Tuesday, December 10, 2013, his great heart went silent and he was taken to his heavenly rest.

Jack is survived by his daughter, Victoria Leigh “Vikki” Woodruff (husband Scott Edward Lepper);his sons, Olin Andrew Henry “Hank” Hutto and Frederick Luke Hutto; his granddaughters, Zenya Sterling Lepper and Emily Josa Geer Hutto; his sister, Beverly Hutto Combs; his longtime friend and housekeeper, Ludie Mack; and his close friends and companions, Elaine S. Moore, B. Michael Magda and Steve Jackson.

A memorial service officiated by the Rev. Whit Chapman celebrating Jack’s life will be held at two o’clock on Tuesday, December 17, 2013 at the chapel of the Edo Miller and Sons Funeral Home, 3321 Glynn Avenue, Brunswick, Georgia 31520.

It was Jack’s wish that any memorial contributions be made to the Hospice of the Golden Isles, which was very dear to him.

Their address is 1692 Glynco Parkway, Brunswick, GA, 31525