Hitchings remembers that shortly after her husband Herschel Hitchings passed away, she saw an article about seminarians in Catholic Times, along with their photos. “They were in the paper, two rows of those boys’ pictures,” she said. “I remember there were a lot of them.
“So I thought, ‘That’s what I’ll do. I’ll write to those boys. And I wrote to them all.”
Although many years have passed since then, Hitchings remains happy with her decision to keep seminarians in her thoughts and prayers.
Hitchings doesn’t recall the exact year she saw the photos, but she does remember that Father Jeff Grant was one of the first ordained. She says she still hears from Father Grant, Father Joe Ring, Father Bob Jallas, Father Pat Jakel and of course, Father Edwards.
Hitchings says she was honored and pleased by the turn-out at her party, which was especially well-attended by her many nieces and nephews and featured a slide show of her life. The youngest attendees were her great-great-great twin nieces, who were originally due on her birthday but arrived a month early. “One of them is named after me — well, at least partly — her middle name is Pearl.”
Having generations of loving nieces and nephews means the world to Hitchings. “I never had children,” she said. “But I’ve got a lot of kids.”
Hitchings, known as “Auntie Pearl” to her family, has always been amazingly healthy, says her great-niece Marlene Marten, who is one of the people who organized the big birthday gathering. She says she is thankful for her great-aunt. “She seems and looks much younger and still has brown hair — and that is her natural color.”
“I don’t know why, but I’ve been lucky,” Hitchings said. “I’ve always been healthy. I’ve never spent a night in the hospital, unless I was sitting up with someone. And my hair is still brown. Nobody can understand it. I’ve told my friends here that I’ve always wanted white hair — because, you know, it just looks better on older people — so on my birthday they got me a gray wig!”
Father Edwards brought Rafal Pyrchla, a Polish seminarian who is staying with him, to meet Hitchings during her party. “Pearl has promised to pray for him, too,” Father Edwards said.
About five years ago Hitchings moved from her own home and settled in an apartment at Evergreen Place in Litchfield, yet she still considers St. Raymond in Raymond her home parish. “I can’t really get out to Mass, but they bring Communion to me here,” she said.
Hitchings says she hopes to remain independent and plans on continuing to pray for seminarians and her priest friends. “That’s what I do here now,” she said. “I walk these halls and I pray for seminarians. It’s something I can do.”