Viola B Hinkle

Viola B. Hinkle

Born September 25, 1924, and the Flight of the Bumblebee took off.

Viola B. Hinkle, ‘Gram’, was born as the youngest of a set of identical twin girls, Violet and Viola, to Theodore and Ivy Burnham in Bountiful, Utah. She and her twin sister were the second and third children, they had an older brother Robert.  Later their surviving younger sister, Norma would follow.

Viola married Harold Arthur Hinkle June 9, 1943, in Bountiful, Utah. They were married after Harold received a furlough from training in the US Army to return home for a weekend to get married before returning to serve the United States proudly in Europe during World War II.

Gram went to serve the US War effort as well, recruited while still in Davis High School to go into the Secretarial Pool for the Department of Defense. From this entry into the workforce in her late teens, Gram, would have a career as a Civilian Secretary to several commanders and Colonels at Hill Air Force Base in Northern Utah. Whom she became essential to all, and she was loved by all. Viola would retire from serving the US in 1984.  But that wasn’t about to slow her down.

Despite having a serious career for decades, Gram also had two children of her own, Mary Ann and Michael. As well as being the adult supervision to her husband, ‘Oh damnit, Harold!’, and his unique sense of humor.

Gram was grandmother to four grandchildren, Tom, Tim, Jack, and Taz. Harold and Vi were the greatest grandparents, though none of her four grandchildren could keep up with their tiny grandmother if she suddenly exclaimed ‘We are going to town to go shopping!’.  Words that instantly would make all her grandchildren feel exhausted. This was true of her great-grandchildren as well. Because even into her late eighties there was no Olympic sprinter that could keep up with Viola the Bumblebee when it came to shopping. Gram’s five great-grandchildren are Debbie, Traisha, Orion, and the twins Hazel and Rowan.

Gram loved family and holidays. She always made certain there was way too much food, and always fretted about everyone not having enough. It was amazing that grandpa did not weigh 800 pounds after a lifetime of Gram fretting about him not eating enough. The same could be said about all of us.

Gram herself hardly had time to eat. Always in a hurry and a rush to move on to the next adventure at a pace and speed that left people a quarter her age panting and out of breath as Viola plunged full speed ahead into her next adventure.

Despite having a career, a family, a dedication to highspeed at everything, Gram did take time to enjoy reading racy romance bodice rippers, histories and biographies or filling out books of crossword puzzles in pen or knitting or stitching, getting her hair done, and of course her version of camping; the kind with 4-to-5-star restaurants and roulette tables downstairs. Not the same as Grandpa’s camping, but Gram did enjoy her version much more, often with a Sidecar or an Old Fashion. 

Gram’s highspeed lifestyle didn’t slow down for things like canes, walkers, pacemakers or other noisome things doctors said she needed, like oxygen. Gram had no time for these things, they were of course, for ‘old people’, she did not need those things slowing her down, even as she accelerated into her ninth decade of life, she wasn’t old enough yet.

The Bumblebee finally rests…

Viola, ‘Gram’, finally came to rest after 97 years, August 6, 2022, she passed at home with her family in Ogden.

Survived by her sister, Norma; daughter, Mary and son-in-law, Tom; son, Mike and daughter-in-law, JoAnne; grandsons, Tom, Tim, Jack, and Taz; and great-grandchildren, Debbie, Traisha, Orion, Hazel, and Rowan.

Graveside services will be held on Friday, August 12, 2022 at 2 p.m. at the Ogden City Cemetery. Friends may visit with family on Friday from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary, 3408 Washington Blvd.