George Hutchinson

George Edward Hutchinson, a World War II veteran and fourth generation Washingtonian, died peacefully in his home on June 14, 2026. He was 102 years old.

George was born at Garfield Hospital in northwest Washington in 1923. The following year his family moved to Capitol Hill following the untimely death of his father, where they lived with his grandparents. His family instilled in George a love of history and music from a very early age and both played a significant role throughout his life. He was a lifelong voracious reader, and relished attending concerts, particularly band concert. Two of his ancestors were present at Ford’s Theater the night President Lincoln was assassinated, one of whom was his great grandfather, an assistant director of the United States Marine Band.

In 1937 when George was 15 years old, he began his long career at the United States Supreme Court as a page, working at the Court during the day and attending night school at The Emerson Institute in the District. After graduating high school, he accepted a position in the library of the Court and began taking classes at The George Washington University.

George was studying basic engineering at Ball State Teachers College in Indiana when he was drafted into the Army in March 1943. He was called up and deployed to the Rhineland, Central European Theater. He landed in France in September, 1944 – Ninth Army, Ozark Division 102, 405th Infantry Regiment. His regiment was cited for outstanding performance of duty in action in February 1945 as part of “Operation Grenade,” crossing the Roar River in Germany and taking down the enemy as they marched toward Berlin. His Regiment’s last battle was in March 1945. These soldiers witnessed the immediate aftermath of one of the war’s many atrocities on April 12, 1945. What he saw that day in Gardelegen haunted him for the rest of his life. After VE Day (May 8, 1945) his Division was part of the American occupation forces in Germany. George returned to the States on a Liberty Ship in 1946 and enjoyed a welcome home dinner of steak and milk. He received an honorable discharge from the Army.

George returned to his job in the library at the Supreme Court, and, under the GI Bill, in what he described as “umpteen years” of night school, completed his degrees -- Associate in Arts degree (1947), Bachelor of Arts (1951), and Bachelor of Laws (1954) -- all at The George Washington University.

During this time he met and married his wife, Dorothy. If he could come up with a musical reference to a situation, he would, and in this case, it was a 1946 song “Across the Alley from the Alamo” as his wife’s family lived across the alley from his home.

At the Court, he became assistant librarian, assistant Marshal, and then was appointed to be the court crier. For 10 years he called every session of the Supreme Court to order beginning with the words “Oyez, Oyez, Oyez.” In 2018, he was seated in the courtroom when Chief Justice John Roberts announced that Mr. George E. Hutchinson was visiting that day to celebrate his eight decades of connection to the Court. Upon hearing “eight decades,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg sat up very straight so she could see over the bench and get a look this man. George witnessed many historic moments and heard many significant cases being argued before the Court, including Brown v. Board of Education. The Chief Justice noted that he was the last person to hold the title of “Court Crier.”

In 1962 George became Marshal of the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals and two years later was appointed Clerk of the Court. In 1982 when that court merged with the Court of Claims to become the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, he was named its first Clerk. He retired from that position in 1985 after 47 years of service to the federal government. That same year he became the first Executive Director of the Federal Circuit Bar Association and in 2003 the Bar established the Federal Circuit Historical Society to preserve the court’s history and he became its first Executive Trustee.

He joined the law firm of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow Garret & Dunner (now Finnegan) where he was Of Counsel until leaving the firm during Covid. He was proud to be affiliated with such a prestigious firm. Over the course of his illustrious career he was admitted to The District of Columbia Bar, the Federal Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the Federal Circuit Bar Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association, the Court of Federal Claims Bar Association, the Court of International Trade Bar Association, and the Supreme Court Bar Association. He was co-author of Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: Practice and Procedure (1993) and the author of The History of Madison Place Lafayette Square (1998).

George was active in the Lions Club (Palisades and Arlington Host) for over 50 years. After his retirement he returned to the Supreme Court briefly as a docent. He attended meetings of the Association of Oldest Inhabitants of D.C. even before he was one of their older members. An avid reader, he often returned from the library with more books than he could carry, and trips to a bookstore required multiple sturdy bags. After he fully retired, his routine revolved around daily Sudoku puzzles and watching almost any sport.

His uncle took him to the first Redskins game played in Washington in 1937, so it was fitting that he was season ticket holder for almost half his life. When he wasn’t attending games, he was watching them, whether it be football or baseball. As a youth he was also taken to Washington Senators baseball games at Griffith Stadium. He often told anyone who would listen that the bleacher seats at the stadium cost 25 cents and he would save every penny so he could go to games. When baseball finally returned to Washington, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of attending a World Series home game in 2019. He went to all three. Bitterly disappointed by the outcome, he finally accepted that he was not the only one who did not see the Nationals win a home world series game that year.

He was predeceased by his father, who was an attorney, his mother, who was a schoolteacher, his wife of 64 years Dorothy, his older daughter Carol, his sister, a niece, and a nephew. He is survived by his younger daughter, a sister-in-law, a brother-in-law, numerous nieces and nephews, their spouses and their children, and the ragdoll cat he shared with his daughter.

The family is deeply grateful-- and would like to express their sincere thanks-- to several of the many health care professionals who were truly devoted to his care and comfort for the past several years: Deddeh, Char, Tessie, Analyn, and Sumbal. Of the many who cared for him, these were the consummate professionals.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution Muhlenberg College, designated for The Carol E. Hutchinson Memorial Prize for Research in Psychology, 2400 Chew Street, Allentown, PA 18104 or to any charity honoring military veterans.

Arrangements by Murphy Funeral Homes, Arlington, VA