Jeannie Hutter, a performing arts educator in Independence, Missouri, succumbed to Covid-19 on Jan. 5, 2022. Photo credit: Tommie Hutter
We are saddened to report that Covid-19 has claimed the life of yet another beloved educator. Jeannie Hutter, a performing arts teacher from Independence, Missouri, succumbed to the disease on Jan. 5, 2022. She was 57 years old.
Jeannie was born on July 18, 1964, in San Diego, California. She graduated from high school in 1982 from Goose Creek High School in Goose Creek, South Carolina. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics at MidAmerica Nazarene College in 1986. In addition, she completed courses at Sterling College in Sterling, Kansas, for her certification in speech and theatre.
Jeannie inaugurated her teaching career in 1990 when she accepted a position teaching math at Liberty Middle School in Hutchinson, Kansas. In 1993, she moved to Kansas City where she taught math at the Kansas City Middle School of the Arts.
In 1999, Jeannie established the speech and drama program at Osage Trail Middle School, Independence, Missouri. While there, she earned a Master’s degree in Educational Technology from Lesley University. Ten years later she relocated from the middle school to Fort Osage High School, where she taught acting, directing, and stagecraft as the school’s Director of Theatre. During her 25-year tenure there, the popular teacher directed 75 productions.
The fallen educator will be sorely missed. Student Grant McDaniel recalled the personal struggles his teacher guided him through. He remembered she taught her students how to cope with life, which sometimes requires individuals to cope with loss. “She didn’t only teach us to cope, but she also taught us that life does go on, and to keep moving,” recalled student Lillian Templeton. Jeannie will perhaps be missed most by her twin sister, Tommie Hutter, who is also a teacher at the school. “She used to tease the kids and say, ‘I want a thank you when you get your Tony,'” Tommie remembered. “The funny thing is, every one of those kids has ended up in education. So I think that in itself tells you how much she has made a difference as an educator,” continued Tommie.
Jeannie was fully vaccinated, but had a rare auto-immune disease that put her at high risk. She struggled with a condition called granulomatosis with polyangiitis, a disorder causing inflammation of blood vessels in the nose, sinuses, throat, lungs, and kidneys. Formerly called Wegener’s granulomatosis, this condition causes decreased blood flow to various organs.
