In The News

        I am not writing about my dad’s oldest sibling Roy because he did something particularly newsworthy, but because I learned so much about his impressive life as a teacher through newspaper articles I have found. Every article adds up to a life well-lived, impacting so many young people and friends alike. It stuns and saddens me that I only knew and appreciated a very small part of his talents and accomplishments before he passed away in 1993 at age 88.

Roy Hinch in 1927 at Maryville College in TN

While in school in Tennessee he made many friends who were Spanish, and even brought a spanish friend home over the holidays in 1922. Roy would have been 18 at the time. The local newspaper said “Roy Hinch is coming home for the holidays. He will be accompanied by his Cuban friend Iswaldo Devalle.”I just love this. Roy was such a sociable and friendly person! 

Crossville TN paper Dec. 13, 1922

    Let me tell you, he was one smart guy! He was born on August 19, 1905 in the small rural community of Grandview, in Cumberland County, Tennessee.  I don’t know how it happened, but he attended prep school and college at Maryville College, in Maryville, TN (outside of Knoxville). He had an affinity for math, and also studied Spanish and English. He went on to earn a master’s degree at Western Reserve University, and taught these subjects in Euclid Ohio High School early on in his teaching career. His first job in public education was principal at Put-In-Bay High School in Ohio. This little town is on an island on Lake Erie! 

article from 1968 telling of Roy's early work history

   Roy and LaRue Scott were married in Akron Ohio on July 15, 1936. They were married for 53 years, when LaRue passed away in 1989. They never had any children, and I often wondered why, because they would have been such wonderful parents.

Roy and LaRue wedding announcement 1936

During WWII, he did enlist in the Army, even though technically he wouldn’t have had to. But he chose to enlist, and his job in the Army was to learn the Japanese language. I’m sure there was more to it than that though.

So these are some of the facts, and I could go on and on with those. But now I’d like to write about the Uncle Roy I knew. He had so many hobbies and interests. As his teaching career progressed, he became interested in the audio-visual aspect of education. In fact, that became his role in the schools he worked at until he retired in 1970. This interest was rooted in his skill as a photographer, which he continued after he retired from the Euclid schools. 

Uncle Roy and Aunt LaRue in 1978 at NC reunion

He was always busy working on some project or other. As a family, we didn’t get to visit him very often at home in Euclid, Ohio, but whenever we did it was a treat! Uncle Roy combined his talents as a photographer and audio-visual skills to create slide presentations on many subjects. I can still remember sitting in his home watching the most incredible productions of national parks, beautiful vistas, and inspiring scenes, all put together with orchestral accompaniments. He did all this in the 1960’s and 70’s, well before any digital equipment was around.

He was a very compassionate, caring, smart, social and friendly person. His wife LaRue was the same. She was very involved with church, the arts, and the community, and they were a perfect match!

Roy and LaRue at their home on 48th wedding anniv.

Uncle Roy also took part in many educational conferences over the years, and was a much-requested speaker at these events. He belonged to many community organizations as well. He and his wife LaRue established many scholarship funds through their church and also for the colleges he attended.  Oh, and did I mention he and LaRue loved to garden and worked so many hours on their backyard rose garden. 

Roy and my dad had a very close bond. They both loved to learn new things, and embraced new technologies as they came along. Back in the 1960’s they developed an interesting way to keep in touch. Neither one cared much for writing letters or making expensive long distance phone calls, so they would record messages to each other on reel-to-reel tape recorders, and exchange them in the mail, where they would be listened to, shared with others in the home, and then recorded over and then returned with more news. 

  

my dad and Roy (right) in outhouse in TN - good thing its blurry

       Oh, did I mention that both of them were really funny and witty? They would have loved (I think) that I included this photo of them!!!

In closing, let me say that I remember Uncle Roy through my lens of my having known the type of person he was. I’m finding it hard to capture that same lens to portray him to others who didn’t know him. But let me say that if you ever had a favorite teacher or mentor, one that you still remember to this day and the impact they had on you, that would be my Uncle Roy.