Love was the principle that directed Mom's life. She loved unconditionally her three children and without a doubt, she adored her seven grandchildren. But, just as importantly, she also loved all people, as she guided, supported and nurtured them with her gentle and wise nature. Whether they were her children's friends, the mailman, her "dozens of cousins," the gardener, or her caregivers, she welcomed them all into her world with love. Mom also loved her many homes over the years. She was born Kathryn Jane Alexander (aka Gainie) on August 31, 1920 to the late Ethel Olive Dougherty and Silas Erwin Alexander (aka Alec) of Bloomington, Indiana. Indiana University professors boarded in their home on Jordan Avenue, and Mom always reminisced nostalgically that "IU was [her] playground." After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the University, with a degree in French, Mom earned her masters of library science from University of Michigan. She then fell in love and went on to marry the late Edward Luke Hutton of Bedford, Indiana, and they eventually resided in Bronxville, NY for 25 years. Here she devoted her life to rearing her three children and to entertaining her many loyal friends. What we will remember most, perhaps, is that she welcomed everyone into her home, where she was always available and eager to listen. On her 50th birthday, she and Dad uprooted again, this time to Ohio. Although the transition from the East to Cincinnati was challenging (Mom missed the intimacy of the one square mile of Bronxville Village), in her later years she was so grateful to still be in her beautiful Indian Hill home, a home she learned to love over 43 years. Her soul, though, was always and will always be on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. For over six decades, each summer found her at her cottage on Nauset Heights, East Orleans where she loved the salt air, the blustery sea breezes, the fluttering dragonflies, the gold finches, and the big blue sky. Besides her children, Mom is survived by her beloved younger sister of Des Moines, Iowa, and by all the many people whose lives she enriched through her love. We will always remember her loyalty, her intellect, her strength, her compassion, her moral compass, and her open-mindedness. We will also smile as we remember her love for Christmas, Pepperidge Farm cookies, treasure from the sea, dachshunds, Turner Classic Movies, classical music and The New York Times. Most of all, though, we will remember her unconditional love for all of us. Yes, we will always feel and cherish her generous and eternal love.

The Cincinnati Enquirer - Cincinnati, Ohio - 30 Oct 2013