Obituary of Sandford Carl Hutt

Sandford Carl Hutt

Sandford Carl Hutt was born to Viola Beatrice Hutt and Carl Aubrey Hutt on December 20, 1939, in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. Sandford had four sisters, Valerie (Adamson), Marilyn (Burns), Bonnie (Horton) and Wendy (Bell).

Sandford passed peacefully while he was at the North Bay Regional Health Care Centre on Tuesday January 14 at the age of 85. Married to his loving wife Mary Louise Hutt of 63 years. He was the proud father of Kim Hutt-Taylor (Stephen), Carl Hutt (Laurie), and Cameron Hutt (Catherine). He was predeceased by two of his sisters Bonnie and Marilyn. Sandford will be missed by his six grandchildren- Stephanie (Dylan), Kayleigh (Jeremy), Joshua, Cameron, Dylan, and Tyson, and the newly arrived great grandchild Stevie. He will be deeply missed by family and friends.

He was a very gifted athlete who competed in many different sports over his lifetime, but was especially known for his track and field, tennis, and gymnastics achievements. Along with being a great athlete, he was also a high school coach for both volleyball and gymnastics at Chippewa Secondary school in North Bay.

Sandford was an enthusiastic teacher for many years, with his early experience focused on physical education. He later became a fixture in the physics department, which suited him perfectly, because of his keen interest in sciences. He was well known and was easily recognized in his community by his former students. It was a fairly common occurrence for Sandford to be out and about and be warmly greeted by many of the people he had taught or coached.

Sandford had many hobbies over the years, but one of his favorites was woodworking. Having a nice shop in his backyard, gave him the opportunity to make all kinds of interesting projects. He took great joy in making items for his children and grandchildren that would ultimately become keepsakes for the years to come.

Two of his greatest loves were music and dancing. You could seldom walk into his house without hearing some melody playing in the background. It was usually Sinatra, Benny Goodman, Nat King Cole, or one of the other greats. He loved to barbeque a nice steak with family and friends on the weekends-It was on these days, with the music turned up, that he could be seen twirling his dance partners around the living room, while smiling and singing along to the tune. In these moments of happiness, he had an infectious laugh that was easily recognizable, and for those close to him, was cherished the most.

Sandford also enjoyed working with his hands, and it was common to see him in his driveway under the hood of his car, doing yard work, or even building a cedar canoe from scratch. He built this canoe with the help of his friend and used it for many years on camping and canoe trips (mostly on Trout Lake). His friends and family used to joke with him that the canoe he had built-may have been a little on the tippy side.

He was an outdoorsman, who spent a great deal of time immersed in nature. The “bush”, as he liked to call it, was well within his comfort zone, and he learned many skills from his experiences, that were later passed down to family and friends. Whether it was hikes in the fall, camping in the summers, or going deep into crown land during winter, to find that perfect Christmas tree-he could do it all-and enjoyed every second of it. These experiences were also a treasure trove, for the stories that he would share, over the decades of his life.

Sandford had many other interests as well and was almost always joined by his devoted wife Mary, in these shared endeavors.  The two would often be seen riding their bikes to the government dock and later walking along the waterfront together. They went for drives in both the city and countryside, and almost always came back with an interesting story to share. During the walks, they would often stay down by the lake to watch the sunsets, and eagerly talk with friends and acquaintances, they met along the way.

Over the years the walks became shorter, the bike rides were less frequent, and sports like tennis were replaced by golf and band practice. Things may have slowed down for Sandford as he grew older, but he never lost that boyish quality, or curiosity about life, that endeared him to many.

A celebration of life will be held on Tuesday January 28, 2025@ 10:00am hosted by Calvin Presbyterian Church.