Donald Leroy Hutchinson

He was born on January 24, 1930, to Dale and S. Rosella Hutchinson in Sterling, Colorado. He was raised in Sterling. At about 10 years old he started working for his father who was a master watchmaker. He worked after school and on the weekends scrubbing floors and washing windows in the shop. As he got older, he learned to repair watches, clocks, and jewelry. He also worked for the local newspaper and at the local airport. He took flying lessons for a short time. He also enjoyed fishing and duck hunting with his father as well as rock and arrowhead hunting.

He graduated from Sterling High School in 1948. He moved to Denver, Colorado where he went to work for a friend of his father’s, who was a master goldsmith and partner of a prominent jewelry manufacturing company, Hershorn & Fiorella Manufacturing. Don began exercising his goldsmithing talent there, learning from the master goldsmith and 12 artists who worked there.

Don’s work was interrupted when the Korean War began. He served in the United States Air Force, based in Clovis, New Mexico as an Instrument Tech. During his service, he was part of the 140th Fighter-Bomber Group who participated in the “Charlie” Nuclear Test in Nevada, witnessing an atomic bomb dropped from a B-50 bomber. He completed his service in 1953, at the rank of Airman First Class. He received the Atomic Veterans Commemorative Service Medal in 2021, commemorating his participation in nuclear exercise.

After discharge from the Air Force in 1953, Don returned to his job in Denver at Hershorn & Fiorella for a short time before heading West to visit his uncle who owned a jewelry store in Yakima, WA. Don liked the Yakima Valley and decided to stay. He started his own jewelry repair and manufacturing business in Yakima, initially doing work for local jewelry businesses. He opened Don’s Artistry in Gold in 1955. His shop was located in the Miller Building downtown Yakima.

He married Arlene Shogren on August 25, 1957. Arlene served as Secretary/Treasurer for the business. They had one daughter, Kristina, in 1967.

He added retail to his business in 1971. He moved his business to the Yakima Mall Plaza where he spent several years and then to the Summitview and 40th Avenue location, specializing in jewelry retail, repair, custom design, wax casting, diamond and precious stone setting. His excellent reputation spread beyond the Yakima Valley. He enjoyed his craft even after his retirement in 2015 at the age of 85, repairing watches for family and friends, up until his illness in September 2026.

Don enjoyed camping and traveling with his family, fishing, gardening, hunting agates and Ellensburg blues, and researching his family’s ancestry. He enjoyed the study of archaeology and history as well.

He is survived by his daughter, Kristina Chandler (Tod) of Yakima, WA; his brother, Robert Hutchinson (Tammie) of Montrose, Colorado; grandchildren Adam, Samantha and Tyler; and his nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife Arlene, his parents, and his sister Sandra Ils of Sterling, Colorado.

A visitation will be held at Keith & Keith Funeral Home, 902 West Yakima Ave, Yakima, WA 98902, US, on October 15, 2026, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

A graveside service will be held at Terrace Heights Memorial Park, 3001 Terrace Heights Dr, Yakima, WA 98901, US, on October 16, 2026, at 10:00 am.

A funeral service will follow the graveside at Keith & Keith Terrace Heights Memorial Center, 2807 Terrace Heights Dr, Yakima, WA 98901, US, on October 16, 2026, at 11:00 am.