Joan Hinman's Obituary
Joan Hinman, age 84 of Lakewood, held the hands of her son Don and daughter Diane as she took her last breath on April 21st.
Joan was a kind, gentle, generous and compassionate soul. A love of God and family best describes her essence.
She was born in Lebanon, Oregon. Her mother Lucy never missed an opportunity to reminisce about Joan being a tough breech birth. Lucy would later see evidence Joan had both the quiet strength one might identify with the character Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird as well as the curiosity and tenacity of the young girl Scout. Her dad Earl made sure "the naked runner" of the family was often punished after being told Lucy had to chase Joan down, only able to locate her after tracking the trail of clothes she left behind! Joan was the first on the scene when the next door neighbor had an axe incident! Her earliest memories were of the Great Depression and the Second World War. She began a stellar culinary career early by collaborating with her older and younger sisters and almost setting fire to the family home by building a makeshift stove in the wood pile.
In 1950 Joan graduated from Lebanon Union High School and was listed in the yearbook as "a little lump of devotion (to Bob)." She ended up married to said Bob Hinman in 1953. Bob and Joan began their adventure in marriage with Bob's 21 year commitment to service in the United States Air Force. A daughter, Diane, was born in 1955, and son, Don, in 1959. Bob's job as an officer took them to Spain, Germany and 24 other permanent changes of station. He ended his military career in Florida in 1976 and they returned to the Northwest where he worked for the State of Washington as a Computer Systems Analyst. Diane first married in 1977 and Joan was thrilled to welcome her first grandson Robert in 1980. She helped to raise Rob once Diane became a single parent in 1986. Rob was devoted to Joan and worked hard to become a worthy competitor in day long scrabble games.
Joan's sharp mind was once again evident when she regularly matched wits over Jeopardy games with her new son-in-law Mike Bernard in 1989. Her second grandson Richard came along in 1990. He was broken hearted when a move to Oregon limited his time with "the best Grandmother in the universe."
Joan kept us humble and taught us not to let those with a mean spirit promote fear and doubt in our resolve to do the right thing. She had the best "stink eye" going and only had to purse her lips and activate "the look" and you knew you were in the dog house. She always lived modestly within her means. Joan taught us to spend time with each other, talk it out, appreciate the small stuff. She was a real domestic diva, clever and creative....cooking like Julia Child, sewing like she invented the machine.
Joan had more than her share of tragedy. Her father died at the age of 46. She lost her beloved Bob at age 46 after almost 27 years together. True to her yearbook notation of "devotion to Bob" she cared for him for two years after he lost his vision and was confined to a wheelchair. Her dear mother passed in 1987. Her first grandchild Robert, born just after her husbands death was a tragic victim of homicide at age 29 in 2010. Her younger sister Kathryn Gamblin died in 2012. Joan battled breast cancer like both her sisters and the grandmothers before them.
She demonstrated "True Grit" in 2016 when she suffered two pulmonary embolisms followed by the removal of a gallbladder full of over 72 stones with a duct blocked by one stone the size of a golf ball! Her recovery lead to the discovery of lung cancer. On March first of this year she went ahead with a robotic surgical removal of 90% of the middle right lobe of her lung. Her older sister Sally Austin passed on March 26th, 2017 just weeks before Alzheimer's undermined all of Joan's valiant efforts to survive.
We will miss her physical presence, her vast wisdom, counsel, and her fun quirks of character and artistic talents. We will cherish the memory of her beautiful smile.
Mom, thank you for loving, laughing, listening and living as long as you could......you will always be missed and remembered until we meet again.....
Family and friends are invited to attend on Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 10:00 am. in the Garden Chapel at Mountain View Funeral Home, 4100 Steilacoom Blvd SW, Lakewood, WA 98499.
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