Norma Swink Hinchman, age 87, of Wayne, New Jersey, died peacefully Tuesday, June 30, 2015, with her family at her bedside. She had lived in Wayne, New Jersey since 1949.
Norma was born on a farm in Cass. She began her schooling in a one room schoolhouse before her fifth birthday. She had many pleasant memories of growing up on the farm, but she excelled in school, and left home after high school to attend college. She graduated from Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, which is where she met her husband, Ronald Hinchman. Ronald, who was attending D&E on the GI Bill after his service during World War II, asked Norma out on a date several times before she finally said, “yes.” Their romance progressed rapidly and they were married on July 6, 1949. Together they moved to Wayne, New Jersey, where Ronald’s family owned the Herbert J. Hinchman & Son Concrete Company. Norma worked in the office as a bookkeeper until her second son was born, and she served as corporate secretary until 2000.
Norma was an active member of the Preakness Reformed Church on Church Lane in Wayne, New Jersey, where she was a Sunday School teacher, an advisor to the Junior and Senior Youth groups and was active in the women’s groups. She found joy in helping others and volunteered at the Preakness Hospital for 12 years. She was also a Cub Scout Den Mother.
Norma and Ronald had many wonderful years together, working and raising their family. They loved to spend time together, whether traveling, visiting the family farm in West Virginia or relaxing at their lake cottage in Sussex County, Ohio.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her loving husband, Ronald Hinchman; a sister, Thelma Costello; and a brother, William “Lake” Swink.
She is survived by her sons, Donald H. Hinchman, and wife, Karen, of Hardwick, New Jersey, and Douglas J. Hinchman, and wife, Amanda, of Bend, Oregon; a sister, Mary Frances Kennedy, of Fairmont; four grandchildren, David Hinchman, of Spokane, Washington, Carl Hinchman, of Albany Oregon, Andre Hinchman and Sofia Hinchman, both of Hardwick, New Jersey; and two great-grandchildren, Zoey Hinchman and Odin Hinchman, both of Albany, Oregon.
A memorial service will be held August 1, at 11 a.m. at the Preakness Reformed Church in Wayne, New Jersey.
Memorials may be made to the Preakness Reformed Church, 131 Church Lane, Wayne, NJ 07470.
Online condolences may be made at www.vandermay.com