Jean Hutchins Myers

Jean Hutchins Myers, beloved child of God, died unexpectedly on May 7. If youve lived in Maryville or Greenback for awhile, you may know Jean Myers name. A lifelong Presbyterian, Jeans faith was the driving force in her life. She was an active volunteer in the Church, for the Scouts and in the community in too many organizations to list. She was named one of the People Who Matter in Blount County in 2006, and received one year the title of Mrs. Loudon County for her community work in Greenback. A lot of hands have been held by Jean and many folks received rides to doctors appointments, hair salons and got tours in the mountains and around town from Jean too, until she gave up her car after 80 years of accident-free driving, to Haven House, where she was shelter program manager when the emergency shelter opened 31 years ago in Blount County. Jeans children have many stories of the ways their mother quietly touched lives of people in her community. Not long after moving to Maryville, Jean became aware of a Japanese woman who was an Air Force wife, isolated because she didnt speak English. Jeans son Don said, I dont know how mother heard about her, but she found her and befriended her and helped her speak more English. They became close friends. Maryville College students studying in the US from abroad found a home and lifelong friend in Jean. They boarded with her during their college years and were included in family activities and vacations. She kept in touch with all of them, attending the wedding in Japan of one former student boarder in the 90s. Jean didnt confine her activities only to Blount and Loudon Counties. A strong supporter of civil rights here in the US, Jean, then in her 70s, boarded a bus to Washington DC, so she could join a demonstration against apartheid in South Africa. Jean had a wry sense of humor and her love of travel and adventure never waned. She had her first motorcycle ride at 90 with her grandson Alan, Jr., in 2009. She traveled when she could abroad and in the US. Frequently on a tight budget, when Greyhound offered a one-price year-long pass for travel, Jean took full advantage of the deal to visit friends and family around the country. Born in Wausau, Wisconsin, on June 9, 1918, Jeans early life was spent in the small town of Edgar, Wisc., where her father owned a lumber yard and where she met her future husband Lowell. After their marriage in 1939, Jean and Lowell lived in Edgar, until the beginning of WWII when they moved to Bremerton, Washington, and Lowell was hired as a shipyard welder building ships for the navy; Jean worked as a bookkeeper until the birth of their first child. The family moved back to Edgar as the war wound down. Lowell found a job with a long-distance trucking firm and Jean began a search for a new location for the family home that would make it easier for husband Lowell, now father of three children, to get home. Jean was a precocious child and an intelligent adult with a historians and researchers intellect who had no fear about taking on challenges. And that is how she took on the familys move. She was researching communities along the routes of major highways when an acquaintance told her about Maryville, Tennessee a town with a Presbyterian college that was close to major trucking routes. She figured that every town would have a First Presbyterian Church so she wrote a postcard to the First Presbyterian Church in Maryville. A Maryville mail sorter asked the postmaster what he should do with the postcard, since there was no such church in town. Another postal employee and member of the newly formed Highland Presbyterian Church, responded to Jean. She knew that she had found a home for her family when she visited the town and received a warm welcome at the church. The family moved to Maryville in 1955, and Jean embraced her life in East Tennessee. Jean Hutchins Myers is survived by her sister, Mary Lou Lindow; children, Don Myers (spouse Vikki); Alan Myers, and Kathleen Hammontree (spouse Terry); grandchildren, T.J. Hammontree (spouse Courtney), Cody Hammontree (spouse Corri); Alan Myers, Jr. (spouse Amanda); Erin Schultz (spouse Jason); Emily Myers (deceased) and great grandchildren, Connor Landers; Abby Hammontree; Elijah and Ethan Morris; Ella and Eastin Hammontree; Mickey Ricks and Alan Myers III; Eric and Ian McLean; Chloe Schultz and treasured friend Marilyn Massey. A memorial service will be held Thursday, May 16 at Highland Presbyterian Church, 721 E Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville. The family will receive friends at 6 p.m. before the service at 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to Highland Presbyterian Church, Good Neighbors of Blount County or Haven House of Blount County. McCammon-Ammons-Click Funeral Home in charge 982-6812