Wauneta Hinmon

Wauneta Grace Hinmon, 88, of Leawood, Kansas (formerly of New Sharon, Iowa) passed away in hospice care at the Healthcare Resort of Leawood on December 22, 2023. She was born at home in rural Oskaloosa, Iowa on September 1, 1935 to J. Harold and Frances J. Grace and lived most of her life in Mahaska County. She graduated from Oskaloosa High School in 1953. In 1955 she married William Roberts and together they had a son, John. They later divorced.
In 1960 she married James Hinmon, and they had two children; Mary-Frances (Mickey) and Les. They divorced in 1989. Over her lifetime, Wauneta worked in commercial printing, retail, hotel management, as a bookkeeper, and as a seamstress in her sister's fabric shop. She served as an EMT and member of the New Sharon Fire Department ambulance team for 10 years.
In the early 1990's, she managed the Super 8 Motel in Oskaloosa. Wauneta went on to earn her certified hotel administrator designation and numerous corporate performance awards. She officially "retired" from the hotel industry in 2000 and subsequently assumed a part-time position with the City of New Sharon as deputy city clerk, a position which she thoroughly enjoyed.
Wauneta was preceded in death by her father in 1971, her mother in 1998, and in 2021 by her daughter Mickey. Subsequent to Mickey's passing, she relocated to Leawood to live closer to her youngest son and his family.
She is survived by her sister, Winnie Muhl, of Bartow, Florida; her son, John Roberts, of Alma, Arkansas; and her son, Les (Lori), of Stilwell, Kansas; John's sons Daniel and Kevin; Mickey's daughters Sarah (Jeremy) Schuring and Leslie Milliken and stepson Jacob Milliken; and Les' daughters Jordan (Andy) Gunzelman, Madison, Whitney, and Riley. In total she leaves nine (9) grandchildren, eleven (11) great-grandchildren and eleven (11) nieces and nephews to cherish her memory.
A visitation and a celebration of life service for Wauneta will be held at a future date, with interment at the Wymore Cemetery near Rose Hill, Iowa.