Hinkley, William James
Born: 7 August 1926, Kendallville, Indiana
Died: 2 January 2010, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Burial: Lake View Cemetery, Kendallville, Indiana
WILLIAM JAMES "BILL" HINKLEY, age 83, lifetime Kendallville resident, was ushered into his heavenly home on Saturday, January 2, 2010 at Parkview Memorial Hospital, Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Mr. Hinkley was born in Kendallville on August 7, 1926 to the late John W. and Gladys I. (Grosh) Hinkley.
He graduated from Kendallville High School in 1944 and attended Purdue University in West Lafayette until being drafted into the U.S. Army during WWII. He proudly served on the Philippine Islands from 1944-1946 during the occupation of Korea.
He married Olive Babetta Spannagel on October 23, 1954 in Kendallville at St. John Lutheran Church.
Bill worked in the scheduling department for 20 years at McCray Refrigeration until 1967.
For 15 years, he was the co-owner and manager of Kirkwood's Men's Wear on Main Street in Kendallville and most recently was employed by Dekalb Pharmacare in Auburn.
He served for 21 years on the Board of Directors with the Kendallville Chamber of Commerce and was president in 1984. He also served as chairman of the Christmas parade in Kendallville for 23 years.
Bill was a member of St. John Lutheran Church, V.F.W. Post #2749, American Legion Post #86, and the Kendallville Elks Lodge.
He loved spending time with his family and enjoyed playing Cribbage with his son, daughter, and granddaughter. Bill also was an avid reader and enjoyed historical fiction and non-fiction, and loved to read his Bible.
Survivors include:
His wife of 55 years, Olive Hinkley of Kendallville.
Son and daughter-in-law, John and Tris Hinkley of Chesterton, Indiana.
Daughter, Shelly Hinkley of Kendallville.
Three grandchildren: Meghan Hinkley of Valparaiso, and Andrew and Graham Hinkley both of Chesterton.
Visitation will be Tuesday, January 5, 2010, from 4:00-8:00pm at Hite Funeral Home, 403 South Main Street in Kendallville.
Funeral Services will be Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at 11:30am at St. John Lutheran Church, 301 South Oak Street in Kendallville. There will be an hour of calling at the church before the service. Officiating the funeral service will be Rev. Paul B. Griebel and Rev. Robert Shriner. Burial will be at Lake View Cemetery in Kendallville.
Casket bearers will be Dan Lash, David Thiem, Jason Savoie, Doug Crane, Scott Booker, and Andrew Hinkley.
Preferred Memorials may be made to St. John Lutheran Church or Parkview Noble Home Health and Hospice.
-- submitted by Jim Cox