After a lifetime of love and beauty, Lea Hutchins Koester died in her home in Nottingham, New Hampshire on December 29, after surviving over 7 years with ovarian cancer.
Lea was born in Kingston, New York, in 1958. She lived her early years with her parents, Sylva and James (Hutch) Hutchins, and her sister, Julie, in Woodstock, NY. In 1980, Lea moved to the Puget Sound region of Washington State where she began her career as a licensed mental health counselor. She married Michael Koester in 1983, and together they raised two sons, Logan and Evan, now 32 and 26, respectively. They moved to New Hampshire in 1998. Lea continued her counseling work as a private practitioner in Durham, as Lea Hutchins, LCMHC, until she retired in 2016.
Lea loved being outdoors, and developed a passion and talent for gardening – especially flowers, and was also fortunate to have cultivated wonderful friendships with dear and caring people.
She is survived by Michael, Logan, and Evan, and her sister, Julie. On her marker in Nottingham’s South Side Cemetery is carved “A lifetime of love and beauty,” reflecting our memory of Lea.