Terry Lee “Big T” Hinman
HINMAN, JOPKE, DICKA, SKEMP
Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 6/21/2022 at 08:10:58
Terry Lee “Big T” Hinman (74) of Coralville, Iowa, passed away on June 4, 2022 surrounded with the love and support from his wife and family after a sixteen-month battle with liver disease and pancreatic cancer.
Terry was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 11, 1947. His parents, Norman Hinman and Margaret (McCarthy) Jopke preceded him in death in 1965, and 1989, respectively. Being a military family, Terry and his siblings moved frequently around the world from places ranging from Hawaii to the United Kingdom, with many stops in between. Before a final move to Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, Terry’s immediate family established residence in Springville, Iowa, where Terry graduated from Linn-Mar High School in 1965. Springville is also where he married the love of his life, Cheryl (Meyerhoeffer) Hinman, from Hastings, Nebraska, on June 10, 1967. They remained married, nearly 55 years, up to the day of his passing.
He is survived by three sons: Terry, wife Pamela (Koopmann) Hinman of Iowa City, IA; Christopher of Coralville, IA; and Thomas of North Liberty, IA. He was preceded in death by a son, Edward (died 1979, age 5 months). He also has three surviving grand-children: Lydia Hinman of Iowa City, IA; Alexis Hinman of New York, NY; and Jack Hinman of Iowa City, IA. All three are the children of Terry and Pamela.
Terry was the eldest of twelve; ten brothers and sisters from Norman and Margaret Hinman, and two step-siblings from the second marriage of Margaret to Wallace Jopke in 1973. His surviving siblings are: Ellen (Hinman) Dimond of Macomb, MI; Mary (Hinman) Dicka, husband Bruce of Poynette, WI; Julie (Hinman) Skemp, husband Sam of Sun Prairie, WI; Colleen (Hinman) Mini of Milton, WI; Mary Kay (Jopke) Middleton, husband Doug of Edgerton, WI; Bill Jopke of Madison, WI area; Karen (Hinman) Roach, husband David of Wisconsin Rapids, WI; and Charles Hinman of Lakeland, FL. He was preceded in death by three brothers: Thomas (died 1952, age 2 months), James (died 1995, age 40), and Norman (died 2021, age 70).
Terry enjoyed attending his annual class reunions with his fellow Linn-Mar alums. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in political science from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa in 1969, and completed his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1972. Terry practiced law for several years, first in Iowa City, and later in Independence, Iowa. He also worked for two years in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office in Des Moines.
In 1987 he moved with Cheryl, Chris and Tom to Oak Ridge, Tennessee to work on a startup venture in cutting-edge imaging technology. He later learned the Oracle software suite, working at Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oracle Corporation, and later as a private consultant for Oracle software implementations. These consultancy skills and his frequency of travel allowed him to be flexible in his choice of place to live, so he moved again with Cheryl back to Iowa City/Coralville to be close to his sons and grandchildren in 2003. He was also a very successful private trader on the stock market and continued to do so after his retirement in 2010.
Terry had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, constantly seeking new and diverse experiences in traveling, reading, cooking, computer gaming, collecting and music. He was not religious, but he had a spiritual soul. He changed careers multiple times throughout his life. Relying on his intelligence, an attitude of continuous learning, and his determination to master a new craft, he became an expert in multiple fields. Being the oldest, he was the rock of the Hinman’s and extended family and friends, always being there for people in their times of need. Terry was an avid Iowa Hawkeyes supporter and was a member of the Johnson County “I-Club” and “Quarterback Club”. He loved attending Hawkeye games at Kinnick Stadium and Carver-Hawkeye arena with Cheryl and his sons. He also loved going to Arizona every year to watch Chicago Cubs spring training baseball games. His ashes will be spread by his immediate family in his all-time favorite place, Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Family and friends will celebrate Terry’s life at 4:00pm, Friday, June 17th, 2022 at Lensing Oak Hill Funeral Service, 210 Holiday Road in Coralville, Iowa. In lieu of flowers please send memorials to either HACAP Food Reservoir (hacap.org/donate) or The Bird House Hospice in Iowa City, IA (www.hospicehomejc.org).
Online condolences may be shared at www.lensingfuneral.com
Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Johnson Obituaries maintained by Cindy Booth Maher.
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