Anchorage Daily News

DILLON, Mont. - A Montana soldier with Fairbanks ties has died in Iraq from injuries not related to combat, the Department of Defense said.

Army Pvt. Timothy J. Hutton, 21, died Monday in Baghdad. Information about the circumstances of his death was not released when it was announced Wednesday by the military, which said an investigation was under way.

Hutton's grandmother, Karin Malesich of Dillon, said he joined the Army in January and had been in Iraq only a couple of weeks.

"He loved fishing and floating the river," said Malesich, who raised her grandson. "His dream that he talked about was that when he got of the service he was going to build a cabin next to a fishing stream. That was his dream, but that's not going to happen now."

Malesich said signs with the message "We Love You Timmy" began appearing in Dillon after word of his death spread. His grandfather, Malesich's former husband, is Dillon Mayor Marty Malesich. The mayor referred a reporter's call to Karin Malesich.

She said Hutton, who did not complete high school, learned carpentry through the Job Corps. He was enthusiastic about the Army, and a desire to see more of the world was one of the reasons he joined, said Malesich. She was informed of his death on Monday, one day after she and Hutton spoke by phone.

"He told me he was doing fine and not to worry about him," she said.

Survivors in addition to his grandparents in Dillon include mother Sonya Miller of Dillon; father Albert Hutton of Fairbanks; sister Christine Hutton of Missoula; and aunt Ingrid Malesich of Dillon.

Arrangements for a military service in Dillon were pending at Brundage Funeral Home. Karin Malesich said cremated remains will be taken to Alaska later.

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