Obituary of James Hutchings

Hutchings- James E. of Fingal passed away peacefully on Wednesday July 15, 2026 at the age of 85 at the St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital. Dearly loved husband of Judy (Leggett) Hutchings and was predeceased by his wife Joan (Campbell) Hutchings (2009). Dear father of Steve and Kim Hutchings, Elaine and Dave Helkaa and by Lori and Sam Powless, the late David Destromp (Tracy) and John “Rob” and Teresa Destromp. Proud grandpa of Dustin, Brooke, Kelly Troy, Crystal, Sean, Dalton. Dyson, Kyle, Madison and the late Josh. He is survived by numerous great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother Reginald Hutchings (Sue) and sister Eileen Knowles (late Ken) and is survived by his sister Lois Hutchings. He will be sadly missed by his in-laws and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. His smile and kindness will always be remembered and his friendly waves from his front porch will be missed.

James was born March 12,1941 in St. Thomas, the son of the late Harold and Ermine (McGugan) Hutchings and the late Jenny Hutchings. He retired from the Ministry of Transport Roads Department with over 30 years of service. Following retirement, he pursued his passion for farming and worked for Don and Rob McFarlane at McFarlane Farms. His interest in farming led him to owning and driving his International “Silver Sides” Pulling tractor. He would participate at many venues and was a proud member of the Southwestern Ontario Tractor Pullers Association.

A celebration of James life will be held at the McFarlane & Roberts Funeral Home 2240 Wharncliffe Rd S Lambeth, on Monday July 20^th at 1:00 pm.  Visitation will be held on Sunday from 1-4 pm. Please dress casually. Donations can be made to the St. Thomas Food Bank /https://stthomaselginfoodbank.org/ or to the Heart & Stroke Foundation https://www.heartandstroke.ca/donations in his memory.