Keith Hutchings (1 Jul 1958 - 21 Sep 2025)

In loving memory of Keith Stewart Hutchings (67) who passed away peacefully with family at his bedside on the 21st of September 2025 after courageously and determinedly battling bladder cancer for 10 months.

Keith was born on the 1st of July 1958 to Pamela and Anthony Hutchings. It was a Tuesday and the country’s number one song was “All I have to do is dream” by the Everly Brothers. The Yeovil Town Football team, which Keith supported his entire life, would also go on to win the Western League Cup that season.

Keith spent his younger years in Yeovil, mostly out of doors, climbing trees with his younger sister and helping his mum in the family’s large garden. There he attended Milford Infant and Junior School.

In 1969 at the age of 11, the family moved to Dibden Purlieu where he attended Noadswood Comprehensive School until the age of 16 and then Totton College, where he enjoyed instruction in geology and natural history.

He was a Boy Scout throughout his childhood and became a troop leader at the age of 18 – the youngest at that time to ever lead a troop. One of his first jobs was driving the tram at the Beulieu Motor Museum, a claim to fame he relished.

After college, he landed a job as the chief cashier for the National Westminster Bank in Lymington, where he also met his first wife, Jenny Wood, with whom he would go on to have two children, Gemma (1984) and Arran (1987).

Many happy holidays were spent in France at his in-laws as the family and close friends gathered in the summers for good food and fun, including holding mini golf tournaments on the grounds of the old farmhouse.

He left the banking life behind in 1979 to become a technician for British Telecommunications (BT), a company he would work at for more than 30 years.

He found his true calling in 1996 after becoming manager of project managers. One year on, his manager would write, “I am very impressed how Keith has used his determination and particularly his personality to turn around this team. There is now a “buzz” within the team, and the talk is frequently about customer satisfaction, how well they are doing and how they can get better.” From day-one he consistently and enthusiastically led his team to meet and exceed their business targets.

After retiring in 2010 and up until his diagnosis, he would regularly meet up with his BT mates, men who both respected him as a leader and later called him friend.

Never one to sit idle, he then got a job at B&Q selling and demonstrating tools to customers. He took most pride, however, in the kids’ building workshops that he led where he helped young people and adults with special needs increase their confidence through building bird feeders, hedgehog homes, and nesting boxes. He left B&Q for the fully retired life in December 2014.

In February 2014, Keith had joined the local Slimming World group. Thirty-seven weeks on he was 7 stone 7 pounds lighter. In 2015, he was named a semi-finalist for Slimming World’s Man of the Year. Even after he reached his goal, every Tuesday morning he would wake up early, shower and put on his green swim shorts to go weigh in and then help set up for the day’s sessions. There he was in his element - with people who needed encouragement and support. Today he continues to be remembered for his wide smile and warm hugs. His mantra was "If I can do it, anyone can do it!"

Keith’s hobbies were varied throughout his life, some short-lived and others life-long. They included badminton, kite surfing, jewellery making, fossil hunting, metal detecting, coin collecting, stamp collecting and gardening.

He was fascinated by ancient civilisations and loved watching shows that explored how people lived in those times.

Keith also loved music and enthusiastically sang along to his favourite tunes all while dancing as if no one was watching.

He was a naturalist and conservationist at heart. He recycled everything he could , no matter how much work it might have been to do so.

He met his wife Melissa in January 2020 on a beach in the Caribbean after being taken down and roughed up by a rogue wave.

After she patched up his scraped knees and gave him a hug, Keith, emboldened by the local rum punch, asked Melissa if they could be Facebook friends. Later that evening Keith reached out on Messenger. From that day on, until the 19th of September 2025, Keith and Melissa texted or spoke with each other every single day.

In April 2023, after three and a half years of long-distance dating, Melissa pulled up stakes in the US and moved to England. They were married on the 14th of July 2023 in Winchester surrounded by close family and friends. In September, in one of their favourite places on earth - the New Forest - they gathered with many more friends and family to celebrate their marriage. In January 2024 they returned to the island to reminisce about where it all began.

Keith’s was a life well-lived. His enduring positivity is an example to many. It saw him through life’s inevitable ups and down, including his cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatments. Helping and encouraging others drove all his actions. His warmth and “light up the room” full-faced grin will be sorely missed.

Keith leaves behind his wife Melissa Hutchings, his parents Pamela and Anthony Hutchings, and his children, Gemma Rye and Arran Barker-Hutchings, son-in-law Larry Rye, his aunt Audrey Beckett (godmother) and his sister, Lynn Dunkason (Ray) and their children, his nieces Jamie Dunn (goddaughter) and Ellen Unal (Evrim) and nephew Shane Dunkason (Kerrie). Known as Grunk to them, Keith also leaves behind his grandnephews Harrison, Austin and James and his grandnieces Isla, Leia and Briella, as well as his ex-wife and friend Jenny Wood (Mary). And other friends who were just like family, including Kim Whitchurch (John) and their two children Vicki Whitchurch and Luke Whitchurch (Fawn).

Keith is preceded in death by his grandparents Beatrice (Beatie) and Cecil Poole and Jim and Elsie Hutchings, as well as his cousin Nick Beckett (Gemini).

Please help us celebrate this bright light - this beacon of love - at a celebration service being held at the Wessex Vale Crematorium in Hedge End on the 17th of October at 3 p.m. All are invited.

Please wear bright coloured clothing with minimal black, as Keith loved his bright colours. Men are also invited to wear shorts in honour of Keith’s fondness for donning them all year long.

There will be no gathering following the service, but a Celebration of Life gathering is being planned for later in the year.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Countess Mountbatten Hospice where Keith spent his last days being well taken care of.