Inge Kutchins

I will arise and go now… (“The Lake Isle of Innisfree” W.B. Yeats)

Inge N Kutchins -- beloved mother, wife, friend, neighbor, reciter-of-poems, music-lover, generous humanitarian, sourdough bread baker, gardener, noon-swimmer at Washington Park, magnetic keeper of community of Casper, Wyoming – gently passed over on Friday, April 17, 2026. She was 94 and, also, ageless.

Inge was born in Freiburg Germany on August 15, 1931, to Jewish parents Hely and Julius Neuberger, a Doctor of Medicine. When she was eight, as World War II was erupting, Inge and her sister Doris were the last Jewish children in Freiburg to be given asylum by a Swiss-based Kindertransport (transport of children). She subsequently emigrated to New York City in December 1939 and spent the next ten years being raised by her extraordinary foster mother, Onie Hart. Inge’s life was shaped by these first formative years in the chokehold of Nazi antisemitism, offset by her love of American democracy and humanitarian goodwill. All her adult life Inge supported social justice causes. She made a daily practice of gratitude and chose acts and words of kindness over prejudice or bigotry.

Inge attended Cedar Crest College in Allentown Pennsylvania until, at the age of 19, she met the love of her life, Gilbert L. Kutchins, a young geologist, while spending a summer in Los Angeles with her recently widowed Aunt Toni Kuegler. Inge came to Casper in 1955 when her husband Gil was transferred by Sinclair Oil. Influenced by Fred Hanselman’s courses in Art History and the Humanities, Inge got her Associate of Arts Degree from Casper College in 1967, thereafter maintaining a lifelong pursuit of learning.

She loved film, art, literature, classical music, Cole Porter, Frank Sinatra, the Sunday New York Times. Over seven decades she maintained her vibrant participation in the arts in Casper: active in college theatre trips to England and New York; active in Artcore, the Nicolaysen, and 323 Gallery events; writing classes; a book club started by former State School Superintendent, Audrey Cotherman. Inge volunteered and held numerous administrative service and board positions for the Wyoming Symphony Guild; Casper Garden Club; Natrona County Public Library; the League of Women Voters; Geo Wives; Casper College Humanities Festival; and the Casper Chamber Music Society for which she was also a founding member.

For many years she also tutored children learning to read at North Casper and Paradise Valley Schools. Her spiritual life included both Christian and Jewish theology; she was active over many decades in the First Methodist Church, the Quaker Fellowship, the Unitarian Universalist Community, the noon Peace Prayers at St Marks Episcopal Church. For the last thirty years of her life, Inge brought her light to Casper’s Temple Beth-El Synagogue as an active member. She was also devoted to local Al-Anon Chapters and attended many statewide conferences.

Inge will be remembered as a generous host and a great cook. She loved to create festive dinner parties and luncheons for diverse friends and family who gathered round her large oak dining table. “It was enchanting,” she said as she reflected on this pleasure in her life. And in her end-of-life months, she also reflected that her life had been “miraculous.” She will be remembered for the magnetic sparkle in her eye, a smile that pulled people to her, her poetic turn of phrase, her recall for famous classic movie lines, quotes from Shakespearian dramas, her wit, giggle, and depth of integrity.

Inge is survived by her daughters Leslie K. Scherer and Laurie Kutchins (Kevin Reynolds) and son Keith Kutchins (Candy Jackson); her six grandchildren Michael Scherer, Jen Meador (Ryan), Peter Kutchins Lessard (Christopher), David Kutchins, Weston Reynolds, Ava Reynolds, and great-grandson Kenzo Kutchins Robinson. Inge was predeceased by her husband Gil, and her parents and sister.

The family thanks her caregivers at Intermountain Home Health, Mels Helping Hands, and Central Wyoming Hospice & Transitions for the loving end-of-life care, as well as Connie Brunette, Kate O’Hara, and caring neighbors and friends.

A Celebration of Inge’s Life will take place at 4pm on August 15, 2026 at St. Marks Episcopal Church, 701 S. Wolcott Street, followed by a reception with informal open-mic storytelling and memories.

At her request, memorials may be made to the Casper College Foundation with designation for the annual Humanities Festival; Central Wyoming Hospice & Transitions; or the Casper Chamber Music Society, PO Box 1542, Evansville, WY 82636 – all non-profit organizations.

Sufi poet Rumi epitomizes Inge’s miraculous life: may the beauty you love be what you do.

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