It was a good thing Guy Hutchison enjoyed the outdoors, because that is where he spent the majority of his time.
The second-generation roofer worked atop some of Atlanta’s most iconic structures, including the Varsity, the Omni Hotel and Lenox Square, family and friends said.
“I think he would have been in the roofing business whether it appealed to him or not, because of his father and brother,” joked Jack Haynes, a friend of nearly 60 years. “But it did appeal to him and it just added to his love of the outdoors.”
While Hutchison spent a lot of his time at high elevations, it was the work he did on the ground that brought him the most pleasure, said Joyce Hutchison, his wife of nearly 61 years.
“He just loved helping people, and he did it all of the time,” she said. “He had a very kind heart, and he brought people into his heart.”
Guy White Hutchison died Dec. 21 of complications from Lewy Body dementia and Parkinson’s disease. He was 84. A memorial service is planned for 2 p.m. Saturday at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church. His body was donated to the Emory University School of Medicine.
An Atlanta native, Hutchison went to Boy’s High and then on to Emory University, where he graduated with a degree in economics in 1950, family members said. After graduation he served in the Naval Reserves. In January 1952 he married Joyce Stroberg.
“We knew each other six months before we married,” she said. “We first met at First National Bank, where I was working. My boss introduced us, and after that I always looked for those blue eyes to come back into the bank.”
Though Hutchison stayed busy while he was vice president of Tip Top Roofers, the company his father founded in the 1920s, he always had time for others, said son Matthew Hutchison of West Hollywood, Calif.
“He was always interested in what I was doing,” he said. “He took great interest in other people and their well-being.”
Additional survivors include his oldest son, the Rev. Whit Hutchison of Washington; a daughter, Nannette Hutchison-Johnson of Golden, Colo.; and three grandchildren.
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