PHOTO CAPTION: At left, Wilda with son Mike and, at right, with late husband Coach Harley Redin. (Photo at left courtesy of Plainview Herald)

Linda Pickens Price liked to call Wilda Hutcherson Redin “the queen of Queens.”

“All Flying Queens who had the pleasure of knowing Wilda know she is truly the queen of Queens. Each and every one of us has a story of how this quiet, unassuming and graceful lady touched our lives,” said Price, a Flying Queen player in the late 1960s and current president of the Hutcherson Flying Queens Foundation.

Wilda Hutcherson Redin passed away Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. She was 99. Viewing will be from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, at Kornerstone Funeral Directors, 3605 S.W. Third St., in Plainview. Due to COVID-19 concerns, a private, family-only graveside service is planned.

A charitable donation in Wilda’s memory can be made to the Hutcherson Flying Queens Foundation (a non-profit, tax deductible organization) at HFQ Foundation, 2913 B Lovell Dr., Austin, TX 78723.

Her passing comes less than six months after the death of her husband, legendary Flying Queens coach Harley Redin.

“Wilda was genuine and giving, gentle but strong, and provided great encouragement to all those she met. She gave generously of her intellect, time and resources to support those whose values she embraced, including Wayland Baptist University,” said WBU President Dr. Bobby Hall. “Throughout the many years I was honored to know her, Wilda was always the quintessential example of a Christian woman. She loved Wayland and generously supported its mission.”

WBU athletics director Rick Cooper called Wilda “an incredible woman. She always exemplified class and elegance and was a shining example in so many ways for Flying Queens for many, many years. Her generosity to this university and to Wayland athletics has meant so much. She will be missed.”

Current Flying Queens coach Alesha Ellis described Wilda as “an amazing woman who loved God. I always admired how strong and beautiful she was, both inside and out.”

For more than 70 years since Hutcherson Air Service became team sponsor in 1950, Wilda Hutcherson Redin showed unwavering support for the Flying Queens.

As the wife of Claude Hutcherson, who founded Hutcherson Air Service in 1946, Mrs. Hutcherson opened her heart and her home to hundreds of young student-athletes, providing guidance and support.

“She was a second mom to so many of us Flying Queens. We were a part of her family. She loved us and taught us so many things about being women – strong women in a man’s world,” Price said.

“We were ‘her girls’ as she would always say when referring to any of us. It didn’t matter how old you became, you were still one of ‘her girls.'”

Wilda and Claude Hutcherson were generous benefactors to the university, including providing the initial gift for the construction of Hutcherson Center, the home of the Flying Queens, in the early 1970s.

Wilda continued to give to projects benefitting the gymnasium, including renovating the lighting system, remodeling and refurbishing the Harley Redin Hall of Honor, remodeling the entrance to Hutcherson Center, and replacing the bleachers on the floor level of the gymnasium.

In 1987, 10 years after Claude’s death, Wilda married former Flying Queens coach Harley Redin, whose wife Winona passed away in 1984. Coach Redin died in Plainview on Aug. 1, 2020. He was 100 years old, less than a month from his 101st birthday on Aug. 29.

In 2010, Wayland named the playing surface inside Hutcherson Center “Wilda and Harley Redin Court” for their longtime support. Not long after that in 2011, Wilda penned a book, “Reaching Goals: The Life of Claude Hutcherson.”

Wilda was instrumental in establishing a trio of endowed scholarships for the Flying Queens: the Claude Hutcherson Memorial Award, the Marsha Hutcherson George Endowment, and the Wilda Hutcherson Endowed Scholarship, which are awarded annually to deserving team members.

In recognition of her many contributions, Wilda was awarded WBU’s highest honor, the honorary Doctor of Letters degree, during the 1991 spring commencement.

She was among the inaugural induction class into WBU’s Athletics Hall of Honor in 1992, along with both Claude Hutcherson and Harley Redin. The Hall of Honor later was renamed in honor of Coach Redin. Wilda’s son Mike Hutcherson and daughter Marsha Hutcherson George were inducted in 2004 and 2008, respectively.

“It is impossible to fully calculate the positive impact she had in providing athletic, academic and cultural opportunities for generations of young women while also helping them learn to understand and take full advantage of the life before them,” Hall said. “She was a gracious lady whose extraordinary life we now celebrate, but who we will dearly miss.”

The City of Plainview recognized Wilda with a mayoral proclamation making Sept. 10, 2016, Wilda Hutcherson Redin Day in Plainview.

“When I think of Wilda, the first word that comes to mind is ‘giving.’ It made her so happy to do things for other people,” Ellis said. “Wilda and Harley were always so supportive of me as a player and coach. They were like grandparents to me. I am going to miss Wilda’s pies and cookies, but most of all I’ll miss seeing her sweet smile and getting those always encouraging phone calls.

“We will always be thankful for Wilda and Harley. They will never be forgotten in the Queens’ program.”

Price said Wilda was “a small person in physical stature but so big and strong in spirit, leadership and tenacity. She was so generous with her time and means for so many throughout her entire life. She was an exceptional female role model for the Flying Queens and Queen Bees.

“My personal relationship with Wilda became even stronger after I graduated from Wayland. As an older adult my starry-eyed teenage impressions of Wilda continued to be solidly validated. Wilda truly was the rare genuine jewel we had seen as players.

“Our memories and love for Wilda will remain forever in our hearts.”

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