Obituary of Joyce Hutchins – Foster’s Daily Democrat

Joyce Hutchins, longtime resident of Highpine, Wells, Maine and formerly of Augusta, Maine, died on July 14, 2022. She was 93 years old.

Miss Hutchins was born in Sanford, Maine on October 1, 1928. She was the only child of Lucille (Akroyd) and Ralph G. Hutchins. She attended Wells schools and graduated valedictorian of the class of 1946 at Wells High School. She graduated from Colby College in Waterville, Maine in 1951, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in English and psychology.

After graduating, she took a job in the state of Maine, working as a social worker in the public welfare service. His career in social work spanned thirty-five years, working primarily with the elderly, blind and disabled. She received a master’s degree in social work from the Boston University School of Social Work in 1959.

After a three-year battle with rheumatoid arthritis, Miss Hutchins relearned the process of walking; and back in Maine, became a social work consultant for Maine State programs for the elderly, blind, and disabled. She held this position for twelve years, transitioning into specialized work with the blind which enabled her to develop the first blindness prevention programs in Maine.

Miss Hutchins retired from state service in 1986. She became the first executive director of Maine, Inc. Blindness Prevention Programs and continued to nurture that program until 1999. She developed and established a statewide cadre of volunteers that became the backbone of this program. program.

After her second retirement, Miss Hutchins became active in the development of the Wells High School Alumni Association and served as its first president. She served her community through the Wells Chamber of Commerce, working in the Information Services Division for several years. Most recently, she served as a volunteer station host at the Wells Regional Transportation Center.

Miss Hutchins was a member of Sanford Baptist Church, baptized in 1946, and the South Parish Congregational Church of Augusta. She was a member of the Wells Congregational Church and a longtime member of its choir. She was active in the church’s Ladies Benevolent Society. Its early associations include the Business and Professional Women’s Club of Augusta, the Augusta branch of the American Association of University Women, the Zonta Club of the Augusta area, and later the Zonta Club of York County. She was among the first social workers to be licensed in the state of Maine and was active in the National Association of Social Workers. She was also a member of the National Association of Vision Professionals.

Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 20 at the Carll-Heald & Black Funeral Home, located at 580 Main Street in Springvale. A funeral service will be held at the funeral home at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 21. Interment will be in Ocean View Cemetery in Wells.

Arrangements are under the direction of Black Funeral Homes and Cremation Service, Sanford-Springvale.