Jewel Queste Hutcherson, age 86, died Friday, February 6, 2015. She is preceded in death by her husband, Samuel Jones Hutcherson; her daughter, Lynne Queste McBride; her mother, Susan Watson; her father, Joseph Jay Sherman; her stepmother, Marclay Sherman; her stepfather, John Frederich Teuscher; and her grandson, Brandon Elliott Reid.She is survived by her son, Samuel J. (Jay) Hutcherson; two daughters, Sherry Beth Lee and Sylvia Gail Hutcherson; five grandchildren, Shannon Brooks Reid, Jason Corbett Reid, Adrienne Lynne Washington, Samuel Jones (Sam) Hutcherson, Albert Joseph (A. J.) Hutcherson; and four great grandchildren, Marcus Lewis Washington, III, Cierra Jordan Washington, Brianna Elaine Washington and Jorja Skye Washington.
She is known for the many paintings she has done in her life here in Hartwell and Hart County; the most well-known being the twelve paintings depicting paths one takes in life installed in 2003 and 2009 in the Adult Education Facility meeting rooms at the Hart County Library and dedicated to the educators, volunteers and students.Jewel used naturally-growing water lilies and lotus flowers as her painting subjects.They are metaphors for growth through water to light.She loved horses and mountains and in two of her paintings she put the horses pastured near Cedar Creek Baptist Church in a scene of the mountains of the Northwest, the place of her birth being Portland, Oregon, as was her mother's, to try to ease her homesickness for the west and tie it to the south that she also loved.She named them, "My Spirit Runs With The Horses" and "Whistle Stop," this latter was of a little white horse with what Jewel calls "a sweet face," running as if to the forefront of the painting, with the mountains of Washington State's North Cascades in the background!Jewel also painted a four by eight foot painting of the Jordan River for the baptistery in the Cedar Creek Baptist Church, of which she is a member.She was a known painter before she continued her education at Emmanuel College, the University of Georgia BFA cum laude, a year for certification in Art Education K-12 and some graduate courses at Clemson University while she worked for the Oconee County School District of South Carolina at Salem and Tamassee.She began teaching at age fifty-eight and taught five years.After retiring, she continued her education with a study of art and architecture in Germany, France and Italy; then numerous trips across the United States and Canada with workshops in Oregon, Utah, British Columbia, North Dakota, New York Upstate, Michigan and Kentucky.
The family will receive friends and display a small exhibit of her paintings Monday, February 9, 2015 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Cedar Creek Baptist Church.A memorial service will be held at 4:00 p.m. with Rev. Daniel Walters and Rev. James Sexton officiating. In lieu of flowers any gifts can go to "Serving Christ in Crisis" in cooperation with the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and the Georgia Emergency Management (GEMA).Address: GBC Disaster Relief Mission, Cedar Creek Baptist Church, 3285 Elberton Hwy, Hartwell, GA 30643.