Peter Hutcheon Obituary

USAF Veteran, In His 50th Year with Firm, Beloved Family Man
1943-2025 Peter David Hutcheon was born on September 11, 1943, in the Borough of Richmond, City of New York, to Peter and Helen B. Hutcheon. On Saturday, January 4, 2025, Peter died at Inspira Medical Center, Mullica Hill, New Jersey, with his beloved Barbara Mary by his side.

In the early '50's, the Hutcheon family moved to then bucolic Massapequa Park on Long Island, and Peter attended the ever-growing and changing public schools, graduating from Massapequa High with honors in 1961.

Peter was awarded a Tyng Scholarship from Williams College and became a member of the Class of '65, where he excelled, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. In addition to his education, Peter was richly endowed with life-long friendships, which he treasured. He was a proud member of the Sigma Phi Society and attended annual homecoming dinners for decades, leading his "brothers" in song.

The scholarship from Williams enabled Peter to attend the Harvard Law School, where he graduated, cum laude, in1969, after having spent a year studying at the Ludwig-Maximilian Universität in Munich, Germany, 1965-66.

Following graduation from Harvard, Peter was commissioned a Captain in the United States Air Force, Judge Advocate General's Corps. In 1974, he was honorably discharged and awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal.

Peter returned to the Wall Street law firm of White & Case in New York City before joining the Somerville, New Jersey law firm, Norris, McLaughlin in 1975. At the time of his death, Peter was in his 50th year with the firm, his "family."

As Peter wrote in the Williams College 50th class reunion book in 2015, "I have enjoyed watching our four-lawyer practice grow to nearly 150 lawyers in three states . . .these decades followed a two-year stint on Wall Street and four years as an Air Force JAG officer, at Whiteman Air Force Base . . . but I'm still "practicing."

A majority of his work involved finance and governance, representing businesses and banks, entrepreneurs, and executives trying to achieve success for themselves and their employees in the midst of a complex marketplace and regulatory, environment, and taxation challenges. Peter was grateful to his clients for the ever-varied and unpredictable series of adventures, from Ivy League executives to a high-school graduate who founded and ran one of the country's largest biotech equipment manufacturers, to a Bolivian Indian who owned and ran a specialty chemical company.

Over the years, Peter participated in developing several pieces of legislation involving business architecture: limited partnerships, limited liability companies, inter-entity mergers, and New Jersey's Uniform Securities Act.

"Many of my . . . endeavors were rooted in my 'labors of love' with the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association and the State Bar Association of New Jersey. I want to particularly note the exceptional members of the Partnership Committee of the ABA, which scrutinizes legal theories and challenges the existing way of thinking about how things should be done. Not since my undergraduate days at Williams have I found more stimulating and nurturing colleagues."

In addition to singing with the choir of the First Presbyterian Church in Clayton, New Jersey, Peter served as a Ruling Elder with Session. He was proud to be a member of Clayton Elks Lodge No. 2132, serving as Justice. In his "spare" time, he gladly recorded the minutes as Secretary of Clayton Veteran's Remembrance, Inc. The Silver Lake Association, Inc. was the beneficiary of countless hours of pro bono legal advice.

"My wife, Barbara, and I live in a pastoral setting on a 60-acre lake with an adjacent 120 acres of woodland. A short 35-minute drive from center city Philadelphia, we thrive in Clayton, a/k/a Mayberry, where the barber shop is the place to get the latest news, the bank welcomes dogs, and a business lawyer can find ways to 'pay it forward' via the town's Veterans Committee, Presbyterian church choir, and Special Children's charities with the Elks Lodge. When I graduated from Williams, I went to law school mostly because I did not know what I wanted to do. As it turned out, that was a felicitous 'non-choice.' I have been exceedingly blessed."

In addition to his wife of 39 years, Barbara Silver Hutcheon, Peter is survived by his devoted son, Peter Silver Hutcheon, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, cousins, and numerous friends and relations that span the globe.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to the Institute for Justice, 901 N. Glebe Road, Suite 900, Arlington, VA 22203, or to a Veterans group of your choice.

A Funeral Service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church, 205 N. Delsea Drive, Clayton, NJ 08312, on Monday, January 13, 2025, at 11:00 am, followed by a Service of Committal and Military Funeral Honors at Cedar Green Cemetery, Clayton, New Jersey. Services are under the direction of the BARCLAY FUNERAL HOME of Clayton. Sign the guestbook and send condolences at BarclayFuneralHome.net.