HINELY, Eugene Austin

Eugene Austin Hinely died peacefully at his home in Decatur, Georgia, on January 3 at the age of 95. He was the third of four children born to Mary Ashmore Hinely and Eugene Austin Hinely, Sr., in Savannah, Georgia. He attended Savannah High School where he was an avid 4H Club worker and received the Master 4H Award at the National 4H Congress in Chicago, Illinois, in 1943.

After graduating high school, he entered the Army and served in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II with the 77th Infantry Division. In 1946 he was transferred to the 5th Air Force in Tokyo and assigned to General Douglas Mcarthur’s personnel filing section. He later became a military attaché to the American Red Cross as Art Director.

He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a major in art history from the University of Miami. His professional career as an interior designer included Klug’s, Maxwell Brothers, Ray Lang, Inc. and Rich’s before opening his own business. He also taught interior design at Dekalb College (now Georgia State University) for 35 years.

In addition to his successful career, he was a devoted husband, father, and grandparent. He endlessly supported his wife’s musical career and was quick to chaperone student trips. One of his greatest joys was singing. He sang in St. Paul’s Lutheran Church’s choir and the Savannah Opera workshop; Holy Trinity Lutheran Church’s choir and the University of Miami’s touring concert choir; Resurrection Lutheran Church’s choir and with the Augusta Choral Guild; and for 42 years, the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer’s choir.

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Mary Brown Hinely, and his daughter Hannah Hinely Tiegreen (Chris), grandsons Timothy, Jonathan (Mattie), and Christopher, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law Drs. Walter and Lynda Brown, and numerous nieces, nephews, and great nieces and great nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, sisters Imogene Pandtle (Ray), Mary Jane Clary (Jim) and Mercy Walden (Eddie), his nephew Dr. William Clary, and his beloved poodle, Jacques. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to the Lutheran Church of Redeemer choir or Friends of Music, or St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.