Brenda Dowell Hutchins

Brenda Hutchins, known to her family and oldest friends as Bo, passed away peacefully on November 22, 2024 at the Kate B. Reynolds Hospice Home in Winston-Salem, as the result of complications of leukemia. This profound loss is mourned by her husband of sixty three years, John E. Hutchins, daughters Kelli Elizabeth Hutchins (Beth) and Stephanie Hutchins Autry, son-in-law, George B. Autry, Jr., grandsons George B. Autry III (Bailey) and John Cameron Autry, and much-loved nieces, nephews and cousins. 

Bo was born in Surry County on February 23, 1942, to Leroy Dowell and Lucy Sloop Dowell, who predeceased her. She was the youngest of six children, Nita Dowell Bullard, Maxine (Mac) Dowell, Bonnie Dowell Saylor Leffel Paschal, Robert Lee Dowell and Henry Leroy Dowell, all of whom predeceased her. When Bo was four years old, the children went to live at The Children’s Home in Winston-Salem. Bo lived there until she was eighteen, when she graduated from R.J. Reynolds High School. She often said going to live at the Children’s Home was the best thing that could have happened to her as a child. She had a thirst for knowledge that was nourished there; she was an avid reader when she could take time from her chores. Working in the infirmary taught her the compassion and selflessness that were her most defining qualities. Bo cherished her friends from the Children’s Home and met with them regularly her whole life. As an alumni, she, with her sisters and others, was instrumental in expanding the Children’s Home library and museum. She was humbled to be awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2011. 

Upon her graduation from R.J.Reynolds High School, she received an academic scholarship and planned to attend the Woman’s College (later UNC-G). The summer before she started college, she took a job working in the R.J.Reynolds tobacco factory, where she met John Hutchins. The two fell in love, eloped and were married in Dillon, South Carolina on October 21, 1961. While John attended Wake Forest University on his way to becoming a teacher, Bo attended the Woman’s College, then Wake Forest, before graduating from UNC-G with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She later obtained her Master of Arts in Education from Appalachian State University. 

Brenda taught seventh grade Social Studies and English in the Forsyth County schools for thirty years. She was the kind of teacher former students hugged when they saw her in the grocery store. Brenda was smart, witty and curious and tried to imbue her students with those qualities. She mentored many younger teachers, who remained close to her until her death. 

Bo loved all kinds of music. She and John loved to dance. They were great at it and it was fun to watch them enjoying each other. Brenda enthusiastically participated in all the concerts, art festivals, book fairs and film festivals Winston-Salem had to offer. She loved to travel and was happy to travel alone if she got the urge. She was passionate about women’s issues and was an unwavering Democrat. 

Bo developed a passion for sports while living at the Children’s Home. Just days before her death, she regaled hospital staff with the story of how she had scored all of her team’s points (a total of six) in a basketball game. She proudly flew her Demon Deacon flags, cheered for the St. Louis Cardinals and highlighted interesting games in the newspaper every day. But she was the most devoted fan of her grandsons, always encouraging them from the sidelines of their soccer games, track meets and cross country races. 

Beth, Stephanie and George often wondered how a woman who had grown up essentially without a mother could have learned to be such a loving one and how a woman who had grown up in an orphanage could have known how to make such a love-filled home. Bo was a beautiful, funny and interesting woman. She was loving and so easy to love. She grew circles of friends like a tree grows rings, with her in the middle, concentric circles of her family, Children’s Home friends, teacher buddies, Appalachian group, Ardmore neighbors, beach group, and book club, just to name a few. Whether you knew her as Bo or Brenda, once you were her friend, you were her friend for life. 

Her family and her many friends will honor her memory at a celebration of her life on Monday, December 2nd, at Hayworth-Miller Funeral Home, 3315 Silas Creek Parkway, Winston-Salem, NC. Visitation will begin at 1:00 with a service in the chapel at 2:00, followed by refreshments in the R.F. Miller Center at the same address. The family is grateful for flowers, which Bo loved, or for donations to the charity of your choice.