Earl Edward Hutto

He was preceded in death by his father Lt. Col. Earl B. (Joe) and mother Virginia (Pat) and by granddaughter Eleonore Rose. Earl is survived by two sons Mark and Steven, daughter-in-law Lisa, and six grandchildren; Lauren, Steven Jr., Rachel, Patrick, Matthew, and Thomas.

Earl was born on May 2, 1940 in San Antonio, TX. He was the son of Lt. Col. Earl B. (Joe) and Pat Hutto. Growing up as the son of an Air Force father, Earl lived in San Bernardino, CA; Okinawa, Japan; and Wiesbaden, Germany, among other places he called home. Germany, however, was where Earl would find the love of his life, Ellen.

Earl and Ellen were married in February of 1961 in Wiesbaden. Their marriage joined two families whose patriarchs, Roman Werner and Joe Hutto, had previously fought on different sides of World War II. Roman and Joe became life-long friends who shared a mutual respect that only veteran soldiers could understand.

Ellen and Earl moved to America in the same year they married and Earl enlisted in the Air Force following in the footsteps of his father Joe. They purchased their first home in Salina, KS and ultimately found their forever hometown of Kansas City, MO when Joe was transferred to Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base.

Earl received an honorable discharge from the Air Force with recognition being awarded the Air Force Good Conduct Medal and Air Force Longevity Service Award. Earl began his career in civilian life working as a coding programmer for the Kansas City Star. This move evolved into Earl’s longstanding career as an independent carrier for the Kansas City Star.

They say that the post man works through rain, sleet, and snow. However, the “paper man” did all this as well including on Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and every day in between. For many years he not only did this once, but twice a day. Every day!

When the Kansas City Star shifted to one publication a day, Earl decided to take up delivering the Shawnee Sun newspaper every Tuesday and Thursday where he would work from 2:00am in the morning until 6:00pm’ish in the evening only stopping for a QT coffee and sandwich when his route ran nearby. Earl’s entrepreneurship continued to manifest itself as he acquired three Fluffy Fresh donut franchises in the South Kansas City Area. He also owned and managed A-1 Brakes and Transmission on Blue Ridge Road.

Earl always found time to be there for his two sons, Mark and Steven. He would wrap up the morning paper deliveries and then be on the sidelines cheering on his two boys in Football. As the boys moved on to play at Rockhurst High School, Earl would attend every varsity game then, catch a couple of hours of shut-eye then get up at 2:00am to ensure you had your newspaper in your driveway when you woke up at 8:00am.

Earl was the architect of “The Basement” which quickly became the epicenter for his and Ellen’s friends along with the friends of his sons. Those who were lucky enough to attend one of these parties could understand the legendary nature of such events.

In 2016, a 55 year old marriage came to an end when the love of Earl’s life passed away. Earl then created Blue Heaven, which was a tribute to the love of his life. Blue Heaven became his sanctuary where he could reflect and meditate about his one true love and the other blessings life had provided him. “This Blue Heaven is mine, It gives me peace of mind.”

For those who would like to celebrate Earl Hutto and the amazing person he was, services will be held at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 11822 Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO, on Friday, October 30th. The Rosary will be prayed at 9:30am with visitation following until 10:50am. Mass will begin at 11:00am with a committal with military honors immediately following at Mount Moriah Cemetery South, 10507 Holmes Road in Kansas City, MO. All are welcome to return to Steven Hutto’s and Susan Effertz’s home afterwards for a reception with the family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Earl Hutto’s name to St. Thomas More Catholic Church at https://st-thomas-more-535577.churchcenter.com/giving