Read more about Garry’s family history
Watch a 1 minute video biography on Garry Hutchison

I was born in Fairbanks, as was my father Harry. My mother Kathleen Clawson, came originally form Missoula Montana. My grandfather was James T. Hutchison, an aircraft mechanic who worked with Ben Eielson, Frank Pollock, Jim Magoffin and other pioneers of Alaska Aviation. Jim married Helen Matson from Ninilchik, AK., in 1921. Helen’s mother was Helena Oskolkoff, whose grandparents settled Ninilchik with 5 other families, all originally from Kodiak and the Russian Fur Company. There are over 4,000 descendents from the original Ninilchik families living today, most notably Loren Leman from Ninilchik, the past Lieutenant Governor.

My father, like his, was a mechanic but worked on automobiles instead of airplanes. He was a pilot though. He owned and operated Hutchison’s Chevron for over 33 years, which provided me with my first work experience at age 12. I worked at the station for 10 years, driving wrecker at 16. Looking back, I was very fortunate to have worked with my father all those years. He taught by showing how to perform tasks and by providing the opportunity to fail.

At some point, he realized that I wasn’t cut out to be a mechanic and began telling me, “do anything you want to do, just don’t do what I do.” Since I excelled in the classroom, I entered the University of Alaska and graduated with a degree in accounting. Thus began my professional career. I became a certified public accountant in 1975 and have since worked in Fairbanks providing professional business and accounting services to a cross section of the community, including governments and school districts.

The best thing that happened to me was marrying Diane Kennedy from Wasilla. She too came from a pioneer family. Her mother was a homesteader, a pilot and member of the 99 Club and avid outdoors person. Her father was a war veteran, having served in World War ll as a tail gunner in a B-24. There he shot down and was shot down by German aircraft. He was truly a war hero, doing something terrifying, but doing so despite the fear. He was lucky to have survived.

Diane was the University of Alaska’s Outstanding Graduating Senior in 1978 and also one of the school jocks, as she was the MVP and captain of the women’s varsity basketball team. Her name, until recently, still appeared in the top 20 for scoring even though the three point shot did not exist, the basket ball was larger, and she only played three years. Diane liked to shoot! Back then, Alaska played what is now part of the PAC-10. If you want a good story, have her tell about the night UAF beat Oregon State before a men’s game, with 5,000 fans watching!

Diane’s and my greatest accomplishment is having raised three children, all adults now. Jim is a computer software engineer, Michelle is a CPA, like her father and Chad is an attorney. Like most families, our children mean the world to us and nothing is more important than their health and happiness.

This brings me to my life in public service. It began in 1986, when I started attending the Chamber of Commerce’s education committee and became more serious in 1988 when I joined others in Alaska to change the state’s marijuana policy. We did so by initiative, but not before waging efforts to change the minds of sitting legislators. The opposition to the law change was funded primarily by Outside money, and their campaign dishonestly claimed the initiative would change the search and seizure laws in Alaska.

My motivation was to make Alaska a better place to raise children. Drug use in Alaska was skyrocketing and Alaska allowed use in the home, based on the fallacy that marijuana was a harmless drug. The initiative was a success in 1990. After the passage of the initiative to re-criminalize marijuana, I spent the next 7 years working with youth baseball and softball. All of my children loved the game, and these were some of the best years for our family. We coached, practiced and played with the kids and their friends and managed to help raise money to build two baseball parks near Pioneer Park and the Carlson Center.