Lera Kate Hutcherson Powell, 84, of Memphis, Texas, passed away Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
Services will be 10 a.m. Monday, July 6, 2026, in the First Methodist Church in Memphis with Dr. Stan Cosby and Rev. Daniel Downey officiating. Burial will follow in Fairview Cemetery in Memphis.
The family received friends for viewing/visitation from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday at the funeral home.
Arrangements are under the care of Robertson Funeral Directors of Memphis.
Lera Kate Hutcherson Powell was born in Memphis on Dec. 5, 1941, to Edwin and Mildred (née Beckum) Hutcherson. She passed away on July 1, 2026.
She graduated from Memphis High School, then graduated from West Texas State University in 1963 with a B.B.A. and in 1968 with a master’s degree in education. While in college she loved being in the Zeta Tau Alpha social sorority and the honorary society for business education majors, Pi Omega Pi.
She married Ray Don Powell of Spur, Texas, on Aug. 25, 1962. To this union three children were born: Millini Skuba, Robert Powell, and Stephani Cramer. They were blessed with four grandchildren: Nicholas Belcher, Amanda Belcher, Stephen Belcher and Caleb Skuba, and three great-grandchildren: Elijah, Amos and Monica Belcher.
Lera Kate was an avid genealogist and belonged to the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the 17th Century Colonial Dames, the National Society of the Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims, and the Descendants of Former Texas Rangers. She also belonged to the Methodist Church, the Fairview Cemetery Association, and the Hall County Historical Commission.
She loved to take lessons and was a masterful genealogist. She dabbled in a lot of hobbies, including tennis, knitting, crocheting, crewel embroidery, sewing and appliques, CPR, personalizing with wet paint, silk flower arranging, spinning on her own spinning wheel, calligraphy, oil painting, ceramics, china painting, piano lessons, Jazzercise, woodworking, refinishing antiques, both contract and duplicate bridge, mahjong, swimming, Bible classes, tole painting, and watercolor painting. However, her favorite hobby was being an authentic Civil War reenactor and going to battle reenactments all across the South with her lady traveling friends. In her authentic Civil War attire, she marched in the New Year Day’s Parade in Dallas, rode in a vis-à-vis carriage in the Fort Worth Fat Stock Show Parade, was on television in Nashville, Tenn., and attended Southern Balls in Tennessee and Villa Rica, Ga. She loved it! She also traveled with her husband, Ray, after he won many trips to various places in the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, the Baja Mexican peninsula, Italy and South Africa. She was able to purchase a miniature Pietà sculpture at the Vatican gift shop and have it blessed by the Pope. South Africa was truly a highlight! She was able to take a tour around the Cape of Good Hope and see many rusted ship hulls that had crashed in the ocean. The Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet there, one flowing north and south while the other flows east and west. The turbulence and undertow make it impossible for ships to come to shore there. So, while the ships’ hulls sit rusting in the ocean, hundreds of seals sit on the shore clapping and clapping some more.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her only brother, Bob Hutcherson. She is survived by her husband, Ray; daughter Millini Skuba (Gary), son Robert Powell (Victoria), and daughter Stephani Cramer (Chris). Her four grandchildren also survive her: Nicholas Belcher (Lauren), Amanda Belcher, Stephen Belcher and Caleb Skuba. Also adding to the family are three great-grandchildren, Elijah, Amos and Monica Belcher.
Memorial donations may be made to the Methodist Church or the Memphis Fairview Cemetery Association. A grateful acknowledgement is included for the Childress Regional Hospital Hospice Organization.
