CLYDE – Paula Bedenbaugh Hutchison, 61, passed away October 11, 2026 at Mission Hospital in Asheville due to vasogenic edema.

She was born December 31, 1964 in Greenwood, SC. The daughter of Paul N. and Janis R. Bedenbaugh. She graduated from Manheim Township High School, class of 1982 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and went on to attend UNC-Charlotte, where she earned her BS in Biology, followed by a Masters of Medical Science degree from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

In 1991 she married James Lee Hutchison, and moved to Charlotte, NC where she was a Physician Assistant specializing in family medicine. In 2015, the family moved to Haywood County to care of an aged parent.

Paula fought and survived leukemia twice. The second occurrence interrupted her college career and she had to learn to walk all over again after a full laminectomy. The experience gave her a passionate gratitude for the gift of life and inspired her to pursue a vocation in medicine. She was gregarious, quick witted, and full of vitality, generous to a fault, and compassionate. She loved hiking, walking, waterfalls, falling snow, and sunsets.

She cherished her family, and was a constant source of encouragement, and support for every endeavor her children took up. She was the loudest cheerleader at their sporting events, and the biggest booster for their school projects. Her faith in Jesus Christ was deep and unashamed, she was patient, slow to anger, quick to forgive, bore no grudges, and always full of hope and optimism.

She was preceded in death by her father, Paul, and is survived by her husband, Lee of 35 years; two sons, William Paul Hutchison of Charlotte, NC, and James Ian Hutchison (Charisma) United States Navy; her mother of Prosperity, SC; and two brothers, Timothy Lee Bedenbaugh (Teri) of Prosperity, SC, and Michael Alan Bedenbaugh (Karen) of Cherryville, NC.

A memorial service will be held November 21 at 2pm at First Presbyterian Church of Waynesville, NC. Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: https://www.stjude.org/give/memorials-and-dedications.html