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Franklin Hindman Obituary
Hindman, Jr., 76
Franklin "Fred" Hindman, Jr., of Enola, passed away on Wednesday, May 11, 2022 while at Harmony at West Shore, Mechanicsburg. He was the son of the late Franklin and Elva (Leahy) Hindman, born on August 28, 1945 in Alexandria, VA.
Fred was a graduate of Holy Cross High School, Dover, DE, and went on to continue his education at Villanova University. He obtained a bachelor's degree, and he also met the love of his life, Kathryn Heaton. Immediately following college, Fred enlisted as an officer in the U.S. Army, a job that would take he and his young family (of five) all over the world. He saw war time in Vietnam, and was assigned various duties throughout his career; he would retire as a Lieutenant Colonel, ending his career at the former New Cumberland Army Depot in Defense Logistics. After his military career he worked for UPS in Harrisburg as a Package Center Clerk for 17 years. He was a provider for his family, and he loved going on vacation to the shore – Bethany Beach in particular. He was a lifelong Pittsburgh Steelers fan, rooted for Villanova sports, and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon on the bay with his fishing rod. He loved his family, and post-retirement, he was able to loosen up and enjoy life with them; he especially enjoyed having his canine companion, Desiree, in his life. Fred's family finds comfort in knowing that he and Kathryn are together again.
Surviving Fred are his children, Robert Hindman of Harrisburg, Jeffrey Hindman (LeAnn) of Kansas City, KS, and Katey Buggy (Dave) of New Cumberland; a sister, Rosemary Hayes (Joe); and brother, John Hindman (Louann); and a sister-in-law, Diane M. Hindman. In addition to his parents; he was preceded in death by his wife of more than 50 years, Kathryn M. (Heaton) Hindman (dcd. 2021).
Services will be private and held at the convenience of the family. Fred's final resting place will be alongside his wife in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Annville.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution in Fred's name to Hospice of Central PA, 1320 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg, PA 17110.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Franklin Hindman
1 Entry
Rosemary Hindman Hayes
May 19, 2022
A love letter from your sister.
EULOGY FOR FRANKLIN `FRED´ HINDMAN JR.
August 28, 1945 to May 11, 2022
Fred was the oldest of three children and my big brother. His given name was Franklin Frederick Hindman. By the time I formed lasting memories of him, he was going on fifteen and I was five. He had a giant piggybank and as I idolized him, I put every penny I found in it. When he would ask "would you give me a back rub?" I would happily oblige. He grew to be 6´3" tall. That was a lot of back to rub!! But seriously, I just wanted to please him. So its no surprise that a few years later when he came home with Kathy´s Volkswagen Bug, he taught me how to help him wash and wax it.
He lifted weights. I mean the big bar bells with weights on each side. He was tall, strong and athletic and a REALLY good basket-ball player. I believe he was the team captain. My favorite memory of all the games was his winning LONG shot with 3 seconds left on the clock. Everyone knew, in a clutch give Fred the ball. I was so proud of him!
Too quickly for me, my big brother moved on with his life and left the house a little empty. As he pursued a business degree at Villanova University, his love of basketball continued and he made the team. Unfortunately, a broken thumb derailed his ambition but he was flexible and became a cheerleader instead. He always loved Villanova basketball games over the years, especially the championship games and his whole family joined in the fun with their Villanova game jerseys or sporting their colors. When our brother, John followed in Fred´s footsteps to Villanova, the schools song was cemented in my memory for life. Your Grandfather was so proud of his sons graduating from there that he continued to sport his Villanova sweatshirt as he moved me to the University of Delaware and well beyond.
Basketball wasn´t Fred´s only love of sports, however. He was an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan and he put his shrine to the team out for every game. I suspect our father fostered this love as he was from the Pittsburgh area and he loved both the Steelers and the Pirates.
As an adult, Fred started playing golf and he must have been pretty good at it because his brother-in-law once told him he could make a lot of money on the golf course mixing business with pleasure when he retired from the military. I guess Fred just liked the pure game and especially at New Cumberland Army Depot´s golf course, where he enjoyed getting to know people and where they all knew him. Wherever he went, everyone soon came to know Fred. He was very charming and sociable. He just knew how to sit down and talk to anyone whether it was in the service or one rehab home he was in only a couple of weeks or in his last year at Harmony West Shore. I recall his telling me one day in the lunchroom, he saw a disabled man who couldn´t speak well sitting alone. Fred went over, sat down, chatted with him over lunch and helped them both have a better day.
Fred had many interests besides sports. He loved music, anything from Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers to Neil Diamond to Kool and the Gang. In our family home, our Father had a collection of albums that spanned every genre under the sun and that helped us learn to appreciate all kinds of music.
Our Mother also had her influence on Fred. She made a ham and bean soup that both my brothers loved. Fred made it for his family with their Easter hambone. When he stopped cooking later in life, he passed it on and Katey continued the tradition.
Fred and Kathy always looked picture perfect. Fred liked things "spit spot" as Mary Poppins would say. Just like putting that shine on Kathy´s VW Beatle, his shoes were always polished and boots
waterproofed. He even put that shine on wood furniture. I remember an old trunk in my parents home that he antiqued.
He restored a dresser and a curio cabinet with old wavy glass. He kept these two pieces his whole life and was even able to take them when he moved into assisted living at Harmony West Shore. He refinished an old coffee table that had been my parents originally. When Fred no longer needed it, he gave it to me. It has special meaning to me because he is a part of it.
Fred enjoyed watching Fox news. He and Kathy were both Trump supporters and loved watching his speeches. Fred could get pretty excited about some of the stories as is common in politics today. During visits later in life, if there was nothing new to report, you could just put on Fox news and have plenty to discuss.
Like many other young men, the Vietnam War came upon their lives just as they were becoming adults. In Fred´s case, he graduated from Villanova in 1967 and married Kathy at the Villanova Chapel. There was a short period for celebration as he very quickly was off to Officer Training School, followed by field training at boot camp and finally off to Vietnam. Along with the hardship of this service and separation from his new wife, Fred was given R & R (Rest and Relaxation). Kathy was able to join him in Hawaii. They decided they wanted a child and as luck would have it, Robert was born a blessing for Kathy at a time when Fred was far away from home. They later were blessed with another son, Jeffrey and a daughter, Katey. They say good things come in threes.
When Fred´s service in Vietnam was ended, he stayed in the army where he served for a total of 25 years. During this time, he earned a Master´s degree while working and raising children. Eventually, he advanced to the rank of Lt Colonel. I´m sure Kathy was a big part of his success but most importantly, she shined as his wife. He truly loved her and took every opportunity to let Kathy and everyone know this by all the compliments he gave her, whether it was for how nice she looked or what a good job she did. We always knew she was the perfect wife for him and he did too! He wasn´t always the easiest person with his quick temper and wanting things a certain way. I often said Kathy was the ONLY woman for him. She had the patience of a saint! Because of this, she was a calming influence on Fred and he quickly returned to his charming self. After she died, Fred missed her very much and he told me many times how beautiful she was in the hospital when he gave his final goodbyes. He would say "there wasn´t a wrinkle on her face; she was so beautiful."
Like any military family during the course of 25 years, there are ups and downs. Life in the army had its challenges. The constant moving every couple of years to a new town, new school, new friends can be a chance to thrive and learn about new cultures and places but it can also be filled with sadness leaving friends and familiar places. Katey told me she was glad to be an army brat, having the opportunity to travel and tour so many places in the country and in Europe while Fred was stationed in Germany. They went everywhere. For your grandparents, visiting your family gave them their first opportunity to travel in Europe, not once but twice. Again your Mom and Dad were perfect hosts and tour guides. I remember the itineraries they would prepare in advance mapping out dates and places and hotels where they were staying. A professional tour guide could not have put together a better plan. I was also lucky to visit your family there. My friend and I received a warm welcoming family style dinner of wiener schnitzel with other side dishes. Fred taught me how to read the menu and gave me other useful tips for our continued travel plans. Two notable lessons being how to order a white wine spritzer "weisweinschorle" (spelling unknown) and reading the signs for the damen toilette, the ladies room. We enjoyed a day at the Stuttgart Wine Festival before learning firsthand about another hardship of the military spouse and children. Unfortunately, Fred was scheduled to leave for two weeks on maneuvers. He couldn´t even let me know where he was going.
Kathy quickly filled his shoes, taking us out to a castle and one of my favorite places, the walled city of Rothenburg. We had after school ice cream and saw beautiful German homes with lovely flower boxes. Perhaps the most memorable thing was watching soft spoken, calm Kathy flying along the autobahn at speeds I had never before traveled.
We grew up in Dover, Delaware, close enough to the ocean to make a day trip on Saturday and turn around and do it again on Sunday. Our father was an avid fisherman and he shared this love with both of my brothers. Fred´s love of the beach and fishing continued over most of his most of his life. He and Kathy were married in the month of May and often celebrated their anniversary with a trip to Bethany Beach. They really had the best of both worlds as Kathy´s parents had a beach house at the Jersey shore (maybe Strathmere). There was no shortage of swimming and fishing fun for Rob, Jeff and Katey. Fred and Kathy also loved taking his truck right out on the beach. I also remember Fred and Robert visiting your Grandmother and taking a little side trip to try their luck fishing.
I guess you all could swim like fish when you were older but one time at the Delaware shore, your Mother ran to the surf, jumped in and rescued two of you from a riptide, one in each arm.
Loving the water, Katey and Dave longed for a backyard pool and finally realized their dream just in time for Kathy to enjoy her last summer poolside. As fate would have it, just this past summer, Katey and Dave threw a lovely birthday pool party for Fred. He had a wonderful time. On his way home he told me "it was the best birthday" he ever had. I am so grateful to have the memory of how much pleasure this gave him.
No doubt Kathy was the love of his life but Fred loved his children deeply, too. He would always be happy to share any of the good news in their lives. Fred always made sure that they had what they needed and helped them through life. He was a great provider both financially and physically. If they needed him, he would be there, whether as a chauffer, driving them to be with friends or with homework. Katey said if she wanted help with her speeches, he would redline it just like he did at work. There were times when Fred could blow up pretty quickly or be negative but then he would calm down. Other times, he knew when to turn a
blind eye to some stuff if it was just teenagers having some fun.
Not unlike many young people, there were some low periods and Fred was a tremendous help, once with just some kind words.
Fred was not lucky enough to have his wife with him in his last year but he had three loving children who all helped him transition his life to assisted living in many different ways whether by caring to help find the right place and get him all set up with everything he needed or working to deal with all of his apartment belongings or with phone visits from far away, or by making, shopping for and delivering his food, or by visiting him with hoagies and cheese steaks to watch sporting events or just to keep him company and check and see if he was doing OK. Fred loved his children and you knew it by the way they returned his love and took care of him. I am thankful he knew he was loved as he had loved them.
Fred wasn´t rich (although he did have a Mercedes at one time in his life) but he was rich enough to enjoy a good drink, a smoke and the most important things in his life, his family. I´d say he was pretty richly blessed indeed.
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