‘Still teaching us’: Family, students remember Fort Osage teacher who died of COVID
High school senior Grant McDaniel has wracked his mind with what to say Sunday during a celebration of life for his beloved theater teacher, Jeannie Hutter, who died last week of COVID-19.
The 57-year-old teacher at Fort Osage High School was fully vaccinated, but immunocompromised.
“I have no idea what I’m going to say to everyone,” the 18-year-old said while sitting on the stage of the Fort Osage High School auditorium, where the celebration will be held.
He said “J,” his nickname for Hutter, chose the auditorium because it’s where so many of her students and loved ones have learned to celebrate life through theater, and will continue to do so.
McDaniel reflected on his relationship with Hutter: the roles he auditioned for, but was not cast to play, and the personal struggles she guided him through. She taught us how to cope with life, he said, which sometimes requires you to cope with loss.
“In her own little way I think she’s still teaching us,” he said.
A theater director, a mentor
McDaniel was not cast as the lead in the senior musical, and around the same time, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. He could not see her or hug her due to the pandemic, he said, and did not know how to process his disappointment. He went to Hutter for advice and she listened. Her own mother had also suffered from breast cancer and she was open about the experience. Hutter’s support left McDaniel feeling less alone.
While comforting, she could also tell us to get over ourselves, McDaniel said, smiling.
A fellow senior, Lillian Templeton, sat next to him and laughed.
“She was family to us and one of the few people who didn’t sugarcoat things,” Templeton said.
From the moment she began taking theater class and auditioning for plays with Hutter, she felt like she was part of a community. Nobody sat alone at lunch and Hutter was there if anyone needed help with homework, she said.
Templeton remembers her teacher often sharing something vulnerable about herself when a student reached out for advice. When Templeton was upset over not getting a role in the school musical, Hutter shared her own experiences with rejection. And when Templeton’s grandparents died before a show, Hutter was there to commend her for staying strong.
“She didn’t only teach us to cope, but she also taught us that life does go on, and to keep moving.”
Teaching during COVID
Hutter was born in San Diego, California, and moved to Kansas where she got a speech and theater certification from Sterling College. In 1993, she taught math at Kansas City Middle School for the Arts.
Six years later, she decided to help build the theater program at Osage Trail Middle School in Fort Osage, a township of just over 6,000 people about 30 minutes east of Kansas City. Her twin sister, Tommie Hutter, was impressed by the passion she had for influencing kids through theater. After Jeannie Hutter transitioned to teaching at Fort Osage High School, her twin took a job at the district’s middle school.
For 19 years, Tommie Hutter followed her sister around the Fort Osage auditorium, working behind the scenes as her sister directed 75 productions and over 3,000 kids.
“She used to tease the kids and say, ‘I want a thank you when you get your Tony,’” Tommie Hutter said of some of the more talented kids who have passed through the program.
“The funny thing is, every one of those kids has ended up in education. So I think that in itself tells you how much she has made a difference as an educator.”
Jeannie Hutter was always transparent with students and her rough upbringing allowed her to offer advice them from a place of understanding, Tommie Hutter said.
But her sister was often in pain.
Though she never showed it, just breathing under a mask soaked up her energy due to an autoimmune disease.
Tommie Hutter gave her sister a hard time for getting too close to the students without a mask, especially after the school rescinded its mask mandate last May. And while Jeannie Hutter was concerned about masks being optional, she refused to let it stop her from being there for students in-person.
One weekend, while the school was teaching remotely, she told the kids they could help her with some tasks at the auditorium if they needed to get out of the house. Massive amounts of kids showed up, masked, social distanced and ready to help. Despite the work only taking 10 minutes, everyone sat around chatting for hours.
“She gave them a place to belong and to connect,” Tommie Hutter said.
Principal Scott Moore agreed, recalling that Jeannie Hutter was selfless with her time and in creating a special space for students. He said she texted him multiple times while she was sick with COVID to check that the kids had what they needed for the school’s spring production of “Our Town.”
The show must go on
The Hutters planned on retiring in the next year or so, but now Tommie Hutter’s not sure what to do.
“I did everything with her. We lived together, taught together, directed together. So sitting at home with nothing to do might not be a good idea,” she said.
Jeannie Hutter picked “Our Town” as her final show this spring because of its low budget — money can be set aside for the next director to fill her shoes.
For Tommie Hutter, continuing the production without her sister has been terrifying. She does not consider herself a director.
But she believes her tenacity in keeping the Fort Osage theater family alive would make her sister proud. Sharing that spirit with the world is her legacy, Tommie Hutter said.
A Gofundme was started to raise money for the “Jeannie Hutter Scholarship Fund.” As of Jan. 13, about $6,230 have been donated.
This story was originally published January 12, 2022 at 3:12 PM.
