Obituaries

Martha Jane McClain

Photo of Martha Jane McClain
Martha Jane McClain of Knoxville, Tenn. died on March 20, 2013. She was born July 30, 1918, in Louisville, Ky., the daughter of James Walton and Minnie Foster Moore. She grew up in China, where her parents served as missionaries. In 1936, she returned to the United States to attend Hardin-Simmons University, where she earned a degree in Mathematics and English, graduating Summa cum Laude. She then attended seminary, earning a Master's degree in Religious Education. In 1941, she married Merrill L. Hutchins, a former Hardin-Simmons classmate. They both worked for the FBI before and during WWII. She worked at the University of Chicago's Theological Seminary where he earned his B.Div. and Ph.D. degrees. One of Dr. Hutchins' pastoral assignments took them to Guatemala for three years. He became ill there and died in 1958, shortly after their return to the States. In 1962, she married Edwin McClain, a Professor of Psychology at The University of Tennessee in Knoxville. In 1982, they retired to Fayetteville, Ark., where they resided until his death in 2009, after which she returned to Knoxville. Her years abroad gave her a cosmopolitan perspective. She enjoyed foreign cultures and learned foreign languages. In China, she learned to speak Mandarin. She was educated in British schools in China and studied Latin and French there. She also passed the qualifying Oxford exams. In college, she continued to study French. In Guatemala, she learned Spanish. Later, while teaching Spanish at The University of Tennessee, she earned a Masters degree and completed course work for a Ph.D. in Romance Languages. During this time she studied for one term in Spain. During most of her adult life she worked outside the home. Although work and family responsibilities placed limits on her foreign travel, she managed to take part in several foreign study programs. After her retirement in 1982, her frequent travels took her to four different continents. On a trip to China in the 1980's she was able to return to her childhood home. In 1993, she visited Guatemala with her three sons. Until her later years, she was an active church member and volunteer. She is survived by her three sons and daughters-in-law, Grant and Suzan Hutchins, Westerly, R.I.; Richard and Nancy Hutchins, San Antonio, Texas; and David and Sher Hutchins, Knoxville, Tenn.; and by four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. The funeral service will be at The Episcopal Church of the Ascension, Knoxville, Tenn. on April 13 at 12 noon, with a brief reception to follow in the church Parish Hall. Committal of her remains will take place in the columbarium at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, Ark., on a date yet to be determined. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to The Episcopal Church of the Ascension, 800 Northshore Drive, Knoxville, Tenn. 37919; St. Paul's Episcopal Church Memorial Fund, PO Box 1190, Fayetteville, Ark. 72702; or to Butterfield Trail Village Foundation, 1923 East Joyce Blvd., Fayetteville, Ark. 72703.

Published April 7, 2013

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