Dorothy Hill HutchingsDes MoinesDorothy Hill Hutchings died Sunday, November 27, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa. Funeral services will be 10 a.m. Saturday, December 10, 2016 at First United Methodist Church where the family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. Graveside services will follow at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Bloomfield. Dorothy was born on a wintry day in the family farmhouse outside of Bloomfield on December 16, 1918. She was the youngest of Elsworth T. and Bertha Hill's seven children. She always described her childhood as one filled with wonder and adventure within a loving family. As was the case with many during this time, her family lived through the Great Depression, and while poor in material things she remembered her childhood as one filled with richness through the strength and love of family and community.Dorothy's adventurous spirit, lively sense of humor and strong intellect never left her. She was a voracious reader and always started her day reading devotional materials followed by the newspaper. Her end table was recognizable by the stack of books she sailed through. After graduating from Bloomfield Junior College, Dorothy moved to Des Moines and studied at AIB College of Business. She worked in Des Moines for a time and began dating another Bloomfield native, Robert "Bob" Hutchings.In 1944 at the age of 25, she joined the WAVES—the Navy's program for women volunteers. She had considered the Army's WACs but said she looked better in navy blue than in khaki! After basic training she joined the secretarial pool in the Navy Building in Washington, DC. There she recorded some of the most important historical events that occurred during the final months of WW II, including serving as a stenographer for the investigation of the Pearl Harbor attack. After the war, she was asked to travel to Tokyo to help set up the Allied communications system, but she declined having decided to return to Iowa and to Bob who had served in the Marines.Dorothy and Bob had corresponded throughout their respective deployments and at the war's end arranged to meet in Washington DC's Union Station. She saw him in the crowded station before he noticed her and said it was at that moment she decided "he was the one." Dorothy and Bob were married in Bloomfield in 1946.Dorothy and Bob moved to Des Moines and started their family. Dorothy was an extraordinary mother both challenging and supporting her two children, Stephen and Jane. She felt it was critical to give her children "both roots and wings", and she actively encouraged their own adventures. Dorothy and Bob were lifelong members of First United Methodist Church and faith was a central tenant in their lives. Over her lifetime Dorothy contributed her time and skills to numerous volunteer activities that benefitted many, and she was an active member of PEO Chapter HY. As her children moved from college to careers, she relished travels with Bob in the US and abroad. Dorothy was a woman of family and friends and cultivated and maintained connections with people across the globe. When Bob was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in 1989, she actively and steadfastly provided him with the most attentive and compassionate care imaginable. And while she has sustained friendships going back decades, she always was developing new ones across generations. Her family and her friendships are her most important legacy. And all who were touched by her will never forget her zest for living life to its fullest, her laughter and sense of humor, her faith and her embrace. Dorothy was an irrepressible optimist. She believed in turning life's mistakes into positive experiences, and she always advocated for positive change in matters both personal and cultural. Her family hopes to carry this spirit forward in her memory. Dorothy was predeceased by her parents; her siblings, Helen (Hill) Ashmead, Herbert Hill, Harlan Hill, Henrietta (Hill) Ensminger, Martha (Hill) Wellborn and Franklin Hill; as well as her beloved husband, Bob and an infant daughter, Deborah. She is survived by her children, Stephen (Ann) Hutchings of Anchorage, Alaska, Jane Hutchings (Robert Mannheimer) of Seattle, Washington; six grandchildren, Robert (Shana) Hutchings, Michael Hutchings, William Hutchings, Nicholas (Lusine) Hutchings, Nathan Mannheimer and Emma Mannheimer; as well as many nieces and nephews.In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Bidwell Riverside, the Wesley Acres Good Samaritan Fund or First United Methodist Church Service and Outreach Programs. Online condolences are welcome at www.IlesCares.com.