Ray Hutchins Goes to His Heavenly Home

Johnson City, TN (May 8, 2019) — Ray Hutchins, father of Singing News Radio personality Gregg Hutchins (they’re pictured together above), went to be with the Lord this morning. Gregg shared the following thoughts on social media:

“Well, after a long battle with dementia and other health problems, my Dad, Ray Hutchins, passed away peacefully early this morning. While I will miss him, he had such a full life. He was in the Army during WWII, training for the invasion of Japan, but was diverted to Italy to guard 5,000 German SS.

“He was a lifelong musician, and, among other things, played on the Grand Ole Opry for The Willis Brothers. We later played in several bands together. His biggest joy, however, was his radio show. Ray Hutchins was one of the best-known country DJs ever in the East Tennessee-Southwest Virginia area. He was on the air for over 40 years, and I owe a lot of my success in broadcasting to watching how he handled himself on the air.

“My sisters and I were all there with him about a week ago. He hadn’t really talked in weeks, but that night, he was talking like a magpie! He was looking up, and my wife, Gail, asked him what he was looking at. He replied…’Home’…he wasn’t talking about his home on this earth….”

Visitation for Ray Hutchins will be Sunday, May 12, from 2–4 p.m. ET at Morris-Baker funeral home in Johnson City, Tennessee. A graveside service with full military honors will take place Monday, May 13, at 10 a.m. ET.

We’d appreciate it if you’d keep Gregg and all of Ray’s family and friends in prayer during this time of loss.