Wynn Kay Hinkson — in Loving Memory

Wynn  Kay Hinkson was born on April 6, 1956, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Nearly seventy years later, he passed away on March 13, 2026, in Fountain Valley, California.

Wynn's Parents

Wynn was born to Kenneth Royal Hinkson and Lyda Faun Johnson Hinkson. When Wynn was only eighteen months old, his birth mother, Faun, passed away. Soon afterward, Kenneth married Norma Black, who lovingly took Wynn into her heart and home and raised him as her own. Norma became the only mother Wynn ever knew—guiding, nurturing, and caring for him throughout his childhood and helping shape the life he would go on to live. Wynn, in turn, loved and honored Norma deeply throughout his life.

Wynn lived in Utah until he was four years old. In 1960, the family moved to California, where he would spend the rest of his life.

Wynn's Brothers and Sisters

• Kent (born 1954) — eighteen months older than Wynn. Because they were closest in age, Kent and Wynn shared many experiences growing up, including tap dancing lessons, Cub Scouts, Scouting, and competing together in cross-country and track. Kent currently lives in Utah.
• Wynn (born 1956) — second in the family.
• Stephanie (born 1959) — three years younger than Wynn. Stephanie passed away at the age of two. She was remembered as an energetic, curly-headed little girl who loved running across the street to visit the Clavel family.
• Diane (born 1960) — four years younger than Wynn. For many years Wynn, Diane, and Kent spent countless evenings gathered in their mother's bedroom while she read books to them. Inevitably, Mom would fall asleep while reading. Diane currently lives in Utah.
• Barbie (born 1962) — six years younger than Wynn. Barbie currently lives in California.
• Greg (born 1964) — eight years younger than Wynn, but very close to him. Greg and Wynn later worked together for many years in the mortuary business. Greg passed away before Wynn in 2024.
• Marty (born 1968) — twelve years younger than Wynn. Marty also later worked with Greg and Wynn. Marty currently lives in North Carolina.
• Wendy (born 1969 just before the family moved to Fountain Valley) — who passed away twenty-two days after she was born.

Wynn's Children

• Chris (born 1978) — currently lives in Utah
• Michael (born 1980) — died in 2010
• Daniel (born 1986) — currently lives in Utah

Midvale, Utah — Wynn’s Early Years

Until Wynn was four years old, the family lived in Midvale, Utah on Alta View Lane. Across the street lived the Clavel family. A block away, across Main Street, stood a small candy store that seemed like a treasure house to two young boys. Just another block away was Grandpa Black’s home (Norma’s father), where Aunt Annette and Aunt Helen also lived.

A few miles away lived Uncle Keith and Aunt Ilogene and many cousins. Not far away were Grandpa and Grandma Johnson as well. During the fall harvest, Grandma and Grandpa Johnson would often come over, and the whole family gathered to shuck corn and bottle tomatoes together. Also nearby were Uncle Golden and Aunt Janice and still more cousins. Visits with these relatives were frequent.

On Alta View Lane, Wynn and Kent spent countless hours outdoors playing neighborhood games. One favorite was Red Rover, Red Rover — the classic playground challenge: “Red Rover, Red Rover, send someone right over!” The chosen runner would charge toward the opposing team’s line of linked hands. If he broke through, he proudly escorted one of the opposing players back to his side. If not, he became a cheerful captive and joined the other team.

The boys also spent many afternoons riding their bicycles to the nearby high school and then racing down a huge hill that led into open countryside — quite an adventure for boys only four and six years old.

Compton, California

In 1960, when Wynn was four years old, the family moved from Utah to Southern California. Initially they lived in one of the duplex units built by Uncle Rolo and Aunt Faye, right next door to them. Wynn enjoyed spending time with his cousins Gary, Kathy, and Craig, and going on boat outings in the Long Beach harbor with those relatives. The family lived there for about a year before moving further south, closer to Autonetics in Anaheim, where Wynn’s father worked.

Anaheim, California — Growing Up

In 1961, when Wynn was five years old, the family purchased a home in Anaheim, California, very close to his father's work. Orange County was growing rapidly during those years, with new neighborhoods, schools, and churches appearing almost overnight. For Wynn and his siblings, California became the place where most of their childhood memories were formed.

Wynn attended Esther L. Walter Elementary School in Anaheim, part of the Magnolia School District. Like many children growing up in Southern California during the 1960s, school days were filled not only with lessons in reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also with recess games, playground friendships, and the everyday routines of childhood.

During this time Wynn’s father was working hard to get ahead financially. He attended law school for a period of time, worked evenings at J.C. Penney, started a burglar alarm business, and later an emergency preparedness business called The Wheat Colonel with Robert Glad. He also served actively in the Church as a counselor in the bishopric.

Because his father was often away working or serving in church responsibilities, much of Wynn’s early home life revolved around his mother. Norma regularly gathered the growing family — Kent, Wynn, Diane, Barbie, Greg, and eventually Marty — to read stories together in the evenings.

Life in Anaheim centered around family, school, church, a large family garden, and neighborhood friends. Wynn and Kent, still close companions in age, spent much of their free time together riding bicycles, exploring nearby streets, and inventing games that could last for entire afternoons.

During these years Wynn and Kent were also deeply involved in Scouting. Many weekends were spent hiking and camping in the mountains of Southern California. They made trips into the San Gorgonio Wilderness and the nearby San Jacinto Mountains above Palm Springs, learning outdoor skills and enjoying the adventure of long hikes and overnight camps. Each year they also joined week-long expeditions to the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Those years in Anaheim helped shape Wynn’s character. Surrounded by family and a growing circle of friends, neighbors, and schoolmates, he developed the steady and dependable nature that remained part of his personality throughout his life.

Fountain Valley, California — Teenage Years

In 1969 Wynn’s father began working for McDonnell Douglas in Long Beach. To shorten the commute, the family moved to a larger home in Fountain Valley, near Mile Square Park. Wynn attended Trident Junior High School and later La Quinta High School.

Wynn and Kent bicycled about a mile each day to Trident Junior High School, and later walked to La Quinta High School, which was only a few blocks from their home.

The whole family shared a love of the outdoors. They often packed up and headed south for camping adventures in the Anza-Borrego Desert, about two hours away, or north to Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Church activity and church friends were a big part of Wynn's life. Wynn's Dad served during this time as a Bisohp and Stake Presidency Counselor, and then Stake President. Many church members lived in the neighborhood. Those friends were constantly at the family home.

Wynn played the saxophone, while Kent played the accordion. Occasionally the two performed duets together at church.

In 1973 Kent left home to serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Central America. Before Kent returned, Wynn himself was called to serve in the Santiago Chile Mission, where he served both as a proselyting missionary and later as an assistant to the mission president working in the mission home. Because of their overlapping missionary service, the brothers did not see each other for nearly four years.

Marriage and Young Family

A few months after returning from his mission, in June 1977, Wynn met Judy Vincent at Church. They courted for a few months and were married on December 10, 1977.

Wynn and Judy rented an apartment in Anaheim, California so that Wynn and Kent could work together at a family retail drive-through that their father owned in Anaheim, California.

After that business was sold, Wynn got his real estate license, purchased a home in Garden Gove, California, and began selling and developing real estate.

Wynn's and Kent's family remained close. Their families went on vacations together. A memorable one was to Yosemite National Park in California, enjoying the mountains and beauty of the Sierra Nevada.

Wynn and Judy settled into their own home life. Their first son, Christopher Michael (Chris) was born in November of 1978. A second son, Michael Jay was born in November 1980.

By this time, Kent had moved to Utah, and so most Sundays were spent in the Hinkson family home in Fountain Valley, with Wynn's parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews.

A third son, Daniel Kay was born in 1986.

In 1987 Wynn and Judy were divorced although they remained friends.

37 Years Surrounded by Nieces and Nephews

After his divorce, Wynn moved back into the Ken and Norma (his parents) family home in Fountain Valley, where he lived for the rest of his life. Wynn's room was always the one just off the living room and across from the bathroom.

Over the years several of Wynn’s brothers and sisters, along with their spouses and children, lived in the house at different times — including Marty and Sharon for many years. Even after moving out, the family continued to gather there constantly. Brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews came by weekly, if not daily, and Wynn found himself surrounded by a large and lively extended family of twenty-nine nieces and nephews.

Wynn in Later Life

Throughout his life, Wynn remained closely connected to the place and family that had shaped him. The Fountain Valley home had became the center of his daily life, where the rhythms of family visits, and familiar routines created a steady and comfortable pattern.

Wynn’s personality had always been marked by steadiness and reliability. He was not someone who sought attention or recognition, but those who knew him came to rely on his presence and his willingness to help. Whether assisting family members, participating in church activities, or simply being available when someone needed support, Wynn quietly fulfilled the roles that life placed before him.

Over the years he watched nieces and nephews grow from small children into adults with families of their own. Family gatherings, visits, and everyday conversations became an important part of his life, keeping him closely connected to the expanding Hinkson family.

After his father passed away in 2008, Wynn helped care for his mother during the remaining years of her life. That responsibility reflected the same devotion that had long been part of the family. Wynn remained by her side until her passing in 2023.

Those who knew Wynn best remember a man who valued family, loyalty, and common-sense. His life was closely intertwined with the people and places that had shaped him from childhood onward.

Wynn’s story is woven through the lives of the many family members who shared those years with him. Though he has now passed on, the memories of those shared experiences remain part of the continuing story of the Hinkson family.