1978 – Page 2 – Davidson College

June 16, 2021June 30, 2021

William “Billy” Hutchings II ’78

Dr. William “Billy” Hutchings II, age 65, of Macon, GA, entered peacefully into eternity June 16, 2021, surrounded by his loving wife and daughters. He was honored in a private ceremony on June 22.

Dr. Hutchings was the son of the late William S. Hutchings and Bettye O’Neal Hutchings. He attended St. Peter Claver Catholic School and Northeast High School. He continued his studies at Davidson College and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He attended Vanderbilt Medical School and graduated with a Doctor of Family Medicine in 1982.

Dr. Hutchings’ passion for caring for the sick and love for his hometown led him back home to Macon, Georgia. He began his residency in family practice medicine at the Medical Center of Central Georgia in 1982 and later partnered with Dr. Ralph Austin in establishing a successful private practice in family medicine.

Dr. Billy Hutchings’ dedication to improving the health of his patients and his community expanded beyond his private practice. He was a member of the Medical Association of Georgia and Bibb County; Medical Director of Source Care Management; attending physician at the Central Georgia Correctional Institute; Macon Braves team physician; and radio show host of “A Healthy Me with Dr. B” on the K.D. Bowe Morning Show.

Affectionately known as “Dr. Billy” in both professional and social spheres, he spent a lifetime serving the greater Middle Georgia community. He earned the prestigious Eagle Scout Award with the Boy Scouts of America in 1972.

Later civic commitments include chairman of the Macon-Bibb County Race Relations Council; Macon Substance Abuse Foundation for Education; Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity; 100 Black Men of Macon; Rotary Club of Macon; Middle Georgia United Negro College Fund; Project READ; United Way of Middle Georgia; Bibb County Board of Education Member; United Churches of East Macon Prayer Team; and girls soccer coach with the Middle Georgia Youth Soccer Association.

Ever committed to learning and spiritual growth, Billy later earned an Associate Degree in Biblical Studies from The Christian Life School of Theology and a Doctorate of Theology from Beacon University. He was an active member of Stone Edge Church in Macon.

Dr. Hutchings retired from Hutchings Healthcare in October 2020 after 38 years as a physician.

A loyal husband, father, son, and brother, Billy leaves to celebrate and cherish his life on Earth his wife of 33 years, Melanie Woods Hutchings; beloved daughters; Sasha and Kayla Hutchings; mother, Bettye O’Neal Hutchings; siblings; Starr Purdue (David), Sharon Hutchings, Suzanne Malloy (Daryl), Walter S. Hutchings, MD, and Warren S. Hutchings, M.D (Tami); brothers-in-law, Thomas Woods, Glenn Woods, Kenneth Woods, and Keith Woods; Aunts Gloria Hutchings and Gertie Rogers; Linda Bell, his devoted nurse of 35 years; 4 nieces, 12 nephews, a host of cousins, extended family, faithful friends, and loyal patients.

In lieu of flowers, to honor Dr. Hutchings, donations can be made to the Middle Georgia Community Food Bank, 4490 Ocmulgee E Blvd, Macon, GA 31217 and the Rescue Mission of Middle Georgia, 6601 Zebulon Road, Macon, GA 31220.

Published by The Telegraph on Jun. 23, 2021.

August 27, 2020August 31, 2020

Scott Bastin ’78

Scott Bastin of Atlanta, passed August 27, 2020. Arrangements by A. S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home, Decatur, GA.

April 8, 2020February 2, 2021

Page Miller ’78

Page Miller of Washington, DC was born on March 19, 1956 in Baltimore, Maryland and passed away at age 64 on April 8, 2020, at Howard University Hospital of complications from pneumonia and kidney failure. She was preceded in death by her parents, Glen and Geraldine Miller.

For Page, family were friends and friends were family, and she leaves behind many who will miss her gracious hospitality, wry sense of humor, and loyal friendship. These include her husband of 35 years, Brian Brown; her brother Chris Miller and his wife Delores; dear friends Vanessa Cieslak and Kevin Holloway, Pam Dragovich, and Fiona Mackintosh and Mike Hook, among many others; nieces and nephews to whom she was a most devoted aunt: Zachary Miller, Andrew and Marianne Montgomery, Brighid Neal, Connor Gillen, Terry Sullivan, Tracy Sharma, and Carrie Jirout; and extended family including Terry and Charles Montgomery, Roberta and Dennis Gillen, and Carole and Charlie Sullivan.

Page’s family moved often during her childhood due to her father’s job with IBM, living in Baltimore and Hawthorne, New York before eventually settling in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she attended high school and where the family was active in community theater with the Raleigh Little Theatre. Page’s specialty was lighting, and she remained a skilled electrician throughout her life.

After graduating from Davidson College, she moved to Washington and began working at the Library of Congress in 1980, first with the Congressional Research Service, where she met Brian and many of her lifelong friends, and then in the U.S. Copyright Office, where she served as a public information officer for nearly 40 years. She was known to her co-workers as a wise mentor and wellspring of expertise on the finer points of copyright who served the public with a strong sense of purpose.

A longtime denizen of Capitol Hill, Page was a generous host, giving shelter to various friends and family and cats over the years in her guest room and basement apartment.

College study abroad in Germany fostered Page’s lifelong love of travel. She particularly loved Ireland and Italy, returning often to both and treasuring weeks with Kevin, Vanessa, and Pam in a rented house near San Quirico in Tuscany. She and Brian vacationed at the North Carolina shore in winter, when they could walk the quiet beach and curl up with good books.

Page was a voracious reader, returning again and again to her favorite nineteenth-century literary masterpieces (Dickens and Austen were two favorite writers) but also enjoying newer works, especially young adult fiction. She was nowhere more content than in a comfortable chair with a hefty novel and a cat on her lap. She also enjoyed theater, classical music, and opera in Washington and on yearly trips to New York. Her personal rule never to commit to more than one activity a day continues to inspire her friends.

Since baseball’s return to DC in 2005, Page was a loyal fan and season ticket holder of the Washington Nationals. She cheered the team through its World Series run last fall. She will be much missed by her friends in Section 314 at Nationals Park.

From the tale of the Five Sisters of York, recounted in Dickens’ Nicholas Nickelby, we learn that, though the past may be tinged with regret, recollecting it also brings joy: “memory, however sad, is the best and purest link between this world and a better.” All of Page’s friends and family will hold her fondly in their hearts and look forward to gathering to share their memories at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Page’s memory may be made to Classical WETA 90.9 FM at weta.org/support or by mail to WETA FM, Attn: Membership, 3939 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206.

January 29, 2018February 5, 2018

Alison Carol Peeler ’78

Alison Carol Peeler '78 Alison Carol Peeler passed peacefully at home January 29, 2018. She was born November 25, 1955 in Burlington to the late Jess and Dave Peeler. Alison was a proud graduate of Davidson College.

She went on to earn her Masters in Business Administration from Columbia University in 1988, specializing in finance. Her New York Wall Street career began as a District Manager for the AT&T Pension Fund and continued at US Trust Company where she managed investment portfolios.

Alison returned to North Carolina to raise her son,Greg, who brought her great joy and happiness. She continued her passion helping guide people in investments to create long term security at Wachovia Capital Management and then Atlantic Trust Company.

In 2003, she founded her own Registered Investment Advisor firm, Mayhew Asset Management, where she sought to create a personal approach to counseling her clients, providing them with her unique, analytical insight.

In 2007, Alison published her book, Investor Beware: An Industry Insider’s Guide to Investment Advisors. Additionally, she contributed to articles published in The Wall Street Journal.

She is survived by her son Gregory Hobbs Peeler; her brother and best friend, Douglas David Peeler and his wife Jodi of Houston, Texas; her loving nephew,Carter, and nieces, Maris and Lane Peeler.

Alison is also survived by her beloved companion Robert “Bokie” Sherk. Alison will be deeply missed by all her friends in Winston-Salem and beyond. Through the years, she had many adored pets.

In lieu of flowers, she requested that memorial donations be given to The Forsyth Humane Society: 4881 Country Club Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27104.

January 2, 2018January 9, 2018

James Fredrick Wood III ’78

James Fredrick Wood III '78 James Fredrick Wood III 61, passed away peacefully on January 2, 2018 following a short illness, surrounded and comforted by his family.

Jim, as everyone knew him, was born to Marian Prince Wood and the late James Fredrick Wood, Jr. and was a native Charlottean.

He was born on February 29, 1956 and was a “leap year baby.” Some who knew him wondered whether his “true” age (15 1/4) was a truer reflection of his spirit than his chronological age.

Jim attended Myers Park High School. Upon graduation, he attended Davidson College where he earned a BA in Economics. He was a proud member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon where his fraternity brothers became his brothers in life. Jim was a star swimmer for the Davidson swim team, but he played many intramural sports including tennis, volleyball and soccer. He remained a huge sports enthusiast throughout his life.

Upon graduation from Davidson, in 1978, Jim attended Wake Forest University School of Law, receiving his J.D. in 1981. Despite the fact that he was a Davidson Wild Cat and a Demon Deacon, he was a professed and diehard Tar Heel fan. Jim and his father spent countless hours together watching the Heels evolve into one of the most well respected basketball programs in the nation. When the Carolina Panthers were born, he promptly became a loyal supporter and fan.

Jim returned to Charlotte after law school to practice law, practicing for many years and becoming a partner with Baucom Claytor Benton Morgan and Wood. Jim’s areas of practice included civil litigation and insurance defense with a focus on insurance fraud, Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice, Construction Litigation , Coverage and Bad Faith.

Jim’s clients included many large insurance companies as well as private clients. Throughout his career, he taught classes and seminars for the Justice Academy and was a member of the North Carolina Bar and a many other Bar associations.

In the legal profession, Jim was unique because he regularly practiced on both sides of the litigation aisle, representing plaintiffs and defendants throughout North Carolina. He came very close to his “bucket list” goal of trying cases in all 100 North Carolina counties. Both the bench and bar respected his ability and trusted his word. Jim practiced law with style and grace, rarely resorting to tactics he felt were beneath him or the Bar. In fact, many referred to him as a “true Lion of Bar.”

Jim was always available to associates or colleagues to discuss difficult legal problems. He was able to quickly absorb a factual situation and see a path toward resolution. Inside or outside the courtroom, his powers of persuasion were dogged without being belligerent and always well based on face. Jim was even able to persuade his wife, Wendi Wood (a sometimes pushy Demon Deacon fan) to watch and support the Heels, which was no small task.

When Jim met Wendi, he began a chapter in his life that brought joy in ways that the practice of law never could. Jim and Wendi married in 2008. Though Jim was never blessed with children of his own, he quickly became “Dad” to Wendi’s daughter, Taylor, and relished the job of parenting and reveling in the successes achieved by Taylor. Though he may have been happiest when hunting, fishing and cooking with his brother- in- law, Ab, from a cabin deep in the woods, the joy of being married to Wendi and raising Taylor was evident every time he talked about them.

Jim will always be remembered to the legal community, they lost a colleague willing to share his wisdom. To his friends, they lost a brother. To his family, they gained a Guardian Angel. The lives of Jim’s family, friends and community were made richer for Jim’s life among us as a dedicated husband, father, brother, son and friend.

Jim is survived by his wife Wendi Wood, his daughter Taylor , his brothers Kenneth (Karen) Wood and John Mangum; niece Summer Ann Mangum and nephew Cord Mangum.

A service will be held at Davidson United Methodist Church, 233 South Main Street, Davidson on Saturday, January 13th, 2018 at 3:00 pm with visitation following the service.

Memorials may be made to The Make A Wish Foundation, 1131 Harding Place, Charlotte, NC 28204 or nc.wish.org. Online condolences may be addressed to carolinafuneral.com. Carolina Funeral Service & Cremation Center is entrusted with the arrangements.

Published in Charlotte Observer on Jan. 7, 2018