Linda Hutula

Linda Jean Hutula, age 72, of Watton, Michigan, passed away on March 14, 2026, at UP Health System – Marquette, following a long battle with chronic illness. Born on October 21, 1953, in L’Anse to Roland Sr. and Kathleen (Denomme) Huhtala, she graduated from L’Anse High School in 1971 and attended Michigan Technological University. In 1973, she married Dale Hutula in L’Anse, and together they built a home in Watton in 1977, where they raised their two children.

Linda worked at the Hilltop Restaurant and Leemon’s Department Store in her younger years, and for more than two decades she was employed at Wood Development Corporation in Sidnaw. She served on the Covington Township School Board and the L’Anse Area Schools Board of Education while her children were in school, and she gave generously of her time as a volunteer EMT with the Covington Township Ambulance Service for about twenty years. A longtime member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Covington, she taught Sunday School and led the youth group, organizing many memorable trips that included canoeing, camping, whitewater rafting, swimming, jet skiing, hiking, water parks, volleyball, and bowling.

She found her greatest joy in her kitchen, where she loved cooking and baking for family and friends. Her cakes and pies were especially admired, and she proudly won a local pie contest in 2014. Linda also enjoyed sewing, tending her garden of vegetables and raspberries, picking wild blueberries on the Baraga Plains, and competing with her daughter in games of Words with Friends. An avid sports fan, she cheered for the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Tigers and rarely missed watching any game on television.

She is survived by her husband of 52 years, Dale, her son Bradley, and her daughter Elizabeth (Betsy), all of Watton; her sister Barbara (Roger) Jahfetson of Baraga; her brother Roland Huhtala, Jr. of L’Anse; sisters-in-law Linnea Nopola, Carole (Marvin) Rajala of Watton, and Kristine (Donald) Duhame of Ishpeming; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Linda was preceded in death by her parents, her sister and brother-in-law Mary and Roger St. Andre, her parents-in-law William and Sadie Hutula, and her brother-in-law Gerald Nopola.