Robert Hutter Gale, 73, of Smithfield passed away on Sunday, March 5, 2023, after a brief illness.

He was the son of the late Robert Whitfield Gale and Charlotte Stannard Hutter Gale. Hutter attended Isle of Wight County public schools and the University of Richmond. He was employed at Gale Company and then Smithfield Foods for a number of years before becoming associated with Keller Williams Realtors in 2008, in Chesapeake. He was elected to the Smithfield Town Council at age 23 and served from 1974 through 1978. He was also a member of the Isle of Wight Democratic Committee for over 50 years.

Hutter grew up on the water in Smithfield and was an avid boatman and fisherman his entire life. His other interests were many and varied. From his maternal grandfather Harold Heyward Hutter he developed a keen interest in the culture and artifacts of Virginia’s Native Americans. Having hunted for arrowheads from childhood, he eventually inherited his grandfather’s extensive collection, which he proudly displayed along with his own finds. He was also a dedicated supporter of the efforts to preserve Historic Sandusky, his grandfather’s homeplace in Lynchburg, Virginia.

 He collected baseball cards and memorabilia, and was a fervent Pittsburgh Pirates fan, even persuading his first wife Carolyn to celebrate their honeymoon in Pittsburgh to take in several Pirates games. His most treasured baseball memento, however, was a four-page letter Joe DiMaggio wrote to Hutter’s fifth grade teacher to excuse his absence from class to attend a baseball game. (Dimaggio was employed then at the Smithfield firm V.H. Monette and Company, and had befriended Hutter’s parents.) In recent years, Hutter loved traveling out west to explore Death Valley, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion and other national parks with special friend Mary Ann Low.

 Hutter’s marriages to Carolyn Morris Gale and Phyllis Dale Yohannon ended in divorce. He is survived by sons Robert Shawn Carver Edwards, Brian Hutter Gale, and Kyle Devonte Warren, stepsons Justin Junda and Sal Junda, and brother Joseph Harold Gale. In addition to his parents, his brother Charles Whitfield Gale predeceased him.

 A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 11, 2023, at 2:00 pm at Little’s Funeral Home, Smithfield. Online condolences may be registered at www.littlesfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Historic Sandusky Foundation, www.historicsandusky.org.