Mildred Maxine Tiller Hutchins

Mildred Maxine Tiller Hutchins, 100 years young, was welcomed into heaven Thursday, October 22, 2026 to join her dear mother and father and six loving siblings. She was born October 2, 1926 at the family farm in Gate City, VA as the baby of the family, along with her twin sister, Ruby. After graduating from Shoemaker High School in 1945, she moved to Kingsport and took a job at the Kingsport Press where she worked in multiple departments on and off for many years, retiring at age 67 as a hand tipper in the tipping department. She also received a secretarial degree from the Whitney School of Business.

She met the love of her life, Ray Hutchins, after seeing him pick up his sister Joda, who was a friend and coworker at the Press, and telling Joda, "I’m going to marry your brother". They were married in 1950 and were the parents of three children. They moved several times during the early years of their marriage, living in Dayton, Ohio; Baltimore, Maryland; and Nashville, Tennessee, before settling in Bristol, Virginia to be closer to family. They divorced after 25 years of marriage but remained friends until Ray’s death in 2019. Mildred moved back to Kingsport after her divorce from Ray and was married to two other loving husbands, Sullins Harris and Elijah Whitt, both who preceded her in death.

Mildred loved her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren so much and always wanted to find the perfect presents for holidays, birthdays, or other special occasions in their life. She loved to go shopping for herself and others and was known for her fashion sense that even her granddaughters admired, always wearing the latest styles. She particularly loved cheetah print. She loved dressing up for holidays and special occasions like weddings and graduations and never went anywhere without her makeup and hair done to perfection.

Mildred never met a stranger and became friends with the bank teller, grocery store cashier, real estate agents, and repairmen. She had the wonderful characteristic of always seeing the good in everyone no matter what situation a person’s choices had placed them in. If you needed something done, ask Mildred, as procrastination was not in her vocabulary!

Mildred loved her Lord and savior Jesus Christ and always went to church as a child and teen, once married in the church, and took her family to church when the children were young. As it became more difficult to travel to church, she attended Promise Ministries located close to her home in Kingsport. Although she was baptized by aspersion as a teen, she always wanted to be baptized by submersion and achieved this goal at the age of 89 when she was baptized in Fort Henry Lake. She often went to sleep at night listening to her favorite gospel music on her google.

Mildred is preceded in death by her parents, George and Maxine Barton Tiller; and siblings, Blanche, Ruby, Opie, Clara Odel, Marie Turner, and Thelma Rector.

Left to cherish her memory are her son, Gregory Ray Hutchins and wife Gail; daughters, Christina Hutchins Baldwin and husband Mark, Mitzi Hutchins Graham and husband Joe; grandchildren, Greg Hutchins, Jr. and wife Lauren, Taylor Hutchins Bidga and husband Don, Chaney Graham Bass and husband Andy, Blakely Graham Summers and husband Keaton, Aebri Graham, and Hayley, Harper, and Heath Baldwin; great-grandchildren, Lincoln, Declan, and Grayson Hutchins, Benley and Graham Bass, and Sage Summers; and a very special great-niece, Pam Gramberg, and her wonderful friend Bonnie.

Thanks to Annette Ellis, her private caregiver.

The family will receive friends from 10am - 11:30am on Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at Hamlett Dobson Funeral Home, Kingsport. A graveside service will follow at 12pm at Holston View Cemetery with Pastor Ryan Shaffer officiating.