Malcolm Victor Hutchings

Malcolm Victor Hutchings 1935-2026 Born June 21, 1935, elder child of Cyril Victor Hutchings and Dorothy Anne Hutchings, nee Chappell, and raised in the village of Portskewett, County Monmouthshire, Wales with his two sisters, Carol and Wendy. After completing his education at Chepstow Grammar School, Malcolm took an engineering apprenticeship at Bristol Aeroplane Company, ultimately contributing to the design of the first commercial supersonic airliner, Concorde. In 1962, Malcolm married Roberta “Bobbie” Stenner, beginning a 64-year life journey that spanned the globe. Six years later, with two small boys Jonathon and Robert, Malcolm and Bobbie emigrated to the United States to begin a five-year commitment with Boeing Airplane Company as a mechanical engineer for the Super Sonic Transport (SST). Taking up residence on Mercer Island and adding a third son, Richard to the family, Malcolm and Bobbie embraced the opportunity and beauty of their adopted Pacific Northwest home. Malcolm enjoyed family camping trips to the Oregon coast, hiking the Cascades with his boys, fishing in the San Juans, refereeing soccer games, and, of course, his garden. Despite the vagaries of the commercial airplane business and its threats of layoffs, Malcolm nurtured a strong relationship with the Boeing Company, raising the three sons to adulthood before he and Bobbie accepted an overseas posting in Beijing, China. This posting marked an inflection from which they never looked back. As a principal Boeing representative in China, their lives together were enriched by new surroundings, different cultures, and a lively expat community. They traveled throughout Asia and the South Pacific. From China the couple moved with Boeing to Czechoslovakia and traveled through much of Central and Southern Europe before returning to the U.S. in 1998. With that experience behind them, Malcolm retired from Boeing, moving north to Lummi Island, forging new circle of friends and experiences. Lummi Island proved the perfect environment to age gracefully and productively among so many accomplished friends and neighbors and with all manner of important, meaningful philanthropies to advance. Among them were the Lummi Island Heritage Trust, Civic Club, Hilltop Water Association, Disaster Preparedness, and the Historical Society, to name a few. As chairman of the Island's Water Association, Malcolm championed a recapitalization campaign to replace failing distribution lines, expand service to bring new customers online, and find solutions to the island’s arsenic problem. Malcolm aged well on the island, welcoming grandchildren, boating, crabbing, beachcombing, and his two greatest passions, gardening and reading history. Time with Malcolm was about fresh vegetables and a covert lesson in world history. It was the perfect situation, good friends and neighbors, and lots to do. Malcolm’s life wound down as it should, at home among friends and the attentions of his wife, sons and their families, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was known in life for his kindness, presence, gentle nature, dry humor, and keen observation of the world at large. He is remembered fondly the same, a gentle man and a gentleman. Malcolm is survived by his wife, Bobbie; his sister, Wendy; his sons, Jon, Rob, and Rich; his daughters-in-law, Marina and Kathy; his grandchildren, Kaci, Shelbi, and Dane; and his great-grandchildren, Linkon, Huckley, and Boone. According to Malcolm’s wishes, his life will be honored privately among his family.

Malcolm Victor Hutchings

June 21, 1935 - January 6, 2026