On April the 5th, 2021, Leonard Lavoe Hutches, loving husband, father, poppa, brother, uncle and friend, peacefully rode off into the sunset to join the Lord in heaven with his family at his side.

Leonard was born on November 2, 1946 at the family farm seven miles southeast of Vilas, CO to Vess Wood and Iris Gertrude (Loyd) Hutches and he was the youngest of the five Hutches brothers and sister.  Leonard's love for his parents and family was everlasting and was apparent in the many stories he told of them.  Leonard spent his early years on the family farm helping milk the cows, raise hogs and beef cattle and grow broomcorn.  Leonard was an accomplished athlete with an undefeated record as a baseball pitcher in 1964 and played center for the 1964 Vilas Broncos basketball team that made it to the state championship game.  Leonard also was active in many extracurricular activities such as 4H where he won many awards including Grand Champion livestock judge and had a love of music as a pianist specializing in big band music.

Leonard then graduated from Vilas High School in 1964 with a 4.0 GPA and attended college at Lamar Community College and then Colorado State University until being drafted into the Army in 1969.  While in the Army Leonard made many new friends with whom he kept in touch with over the years.  Leonard earned the rank of Corporal while working as a medical corpsman and nurse taking care of many wounded soldiers as they came back from Vietnam.  Leonard earned the national defense medal and expert rifle award during this time.

After being discharged from the Army Leonard married Lonita (Brisendine) Schaller and then brought a daughter, Tara (Hutches) Bradford and then a son, Trampas Hutches, into this world.  On August 27, 1994, Leonard married Rejenia (Kiniston) Hutches and welcomed an extended family that included one more daughter Cristy (Crossan) Spell and grandson Ari Crossan who he loved like they were his own.

Leonard was a 'jack of all trades' and a 'measure ten times and cut once' type of man.  Leonard had the opportunity to provide his farming and ranching expertise to many and worked tirelessly to ensure that the final product he delivered was exceptional.  Leonard's later years were spent as a truck driver where he was counted on to move heavy equipment through high altitude mountain passes or clear interstates during blizzards.  He crossed the one million mile mark with no accidents before retiring at the age of 65 due to Myasthenia Gravis.  Leonard then spent the last several years in retirement doing what he loved the most, being with family, taking care of his chickens and raising bottle calves at the Bradford Ranch in Beulah, CO.  However, Leonard was known best for his calm demeanor, heartfelt hugs, kind heart and quiet optimism…with a side of ornery.

Leonard was preceded in death by both parents Vess Wood and Iris Hutches, sister Florence (Hutches) Eskew, brothers Vess Leroy Hutches, Glen Hutches and Charles Hutches, his father and mother-in-law Cecil and Clara Kiniston, brothers-in-law Kenneth Kiniston and Keith Kiniston and sister-in-law Candy (Kiniston) Martin.  Leonard is survived by his loving wife Rejenia Hutches of Beulah, Colorado, two children Tara Bradford (Robert) of Beulah, Colorado and Trampas Hutches of Farmington, Maine, step-daughter Cristy (Rik) Spell of Las Animas, Colorado.  Grandchildren McKenna Bradford of Pueblo, Colorado, Hannah Bradford of Ft. Collins, Colorado, Traeli Hutches of Ft. Collins, Colorado, Trevor Bradford of Beulah, Colorado and Jaxson Hutches of Holyoke, Colorado.  Step-grandchildren Ari Crossan of Grand Junction, Colorado, Nick and Shad Chavez of Las Animas, Colorado.  Step-great grandchildren Jaylen and Azure Crossan, Sisters-in-law Marjorie Hutches of Vilas, Colorado, Idrys Hutches of Ulysses, Kansas, Diane (Kiniston) Jones of Lamar, Colorado and brother-in-law's Gale Kiniston of Beulah, Colorado, and Gary (Sonja) Kiniston of Lamar, Colorado.