Despite being naturally shy, Anna Laura Murch Hutchins accomplished great things during her life. The wife of Berea’s fourth president, Dr. William J. Hutchins, she was known for caring deeply about people.
Sending flowers to distressed members of the Berea community to comfort them was one of the many sweet gestures she made to quietly minister to the needs of people. The Oberlin and Mount Holyoke College graduate was also a devout member of Union Church and an avid reader who talked to her library friends about books she enjoyed re-reading.
Anna Hutchins is remembered as a gentlewoman. She was an exceptional mother to all of her children; her legacy included two sons who became college presidents: Robert Maynard Hutchins, president of the University of Chicago and the fifth president of Berea College, Francis S. Hutchins.
