Karen Marie Hinman

03/31/1941 — 05/26/2002

From Richland, WA, US | Born in Wenatchee, WA

Karen Marie Hinman

Karen Marie Cornehl Hinman, age 61, died quietly at home in Richland, surrounded by her family and with the support of the Tri-Cities Hospice on May 26,2002 after a swift and devastating fight with cancer. Karen was born to Robert and Elizabeth Weimerskirch Cornehl on March 31, 1941 in Wenatchee, Washington. Karen is survived by her husband, Chet Hinman of Richland, her daughter and son-in-law, Holly Hinman and Patrick Baker of Seattle, and her mother, Elizabeth Miller of Wenatchee. She was preceded in death by her father, Robert Cornehl. Karen spent her childhood on a wheat ranch on the Waterville Plateau near the town of Mansfield, Washington. Karen attended school through the 11 th grade in the Mansfield school system. She attended Holy Names Academy boarding school in Spokane for her senior high school year and graduated in 1958. Karen then attended and graduated from Seattle University, cum Laude, in 1962, with a degree in English Literature. In 1962, Karen married Chet Hinman and moved to Richland where she was employed by the General Electric Company as a secretary. In 1965, Karen moved back to Seattle with her husband while he pursued additional education, where she was employed as a secretary in an engineering firm. She moved back to Richland in 1968. Her daughter, Holly Elizabeth, was born in 1970. Karen was a dedicated and loving wife, mother and friend. Her brilliant smile and sharp, curious mind will be sweet memories to those who knew her . Karen's great love for the outdoors guided her activities. Botany and ornithology were two of her great passions. Karen was a charter member in the Washington Native Plant Society, having attended the fIrst field trip of the organization in 1916. Karen served in various elected and appointed positions within this organization, and was recently inducted as a Fellow of the WNPS in May of2002 for her years of dedication and enthusiasm for the native plants of the Northwest and the world. Karen spent 5 years as the Editor of the Douglasia, thejoumal of the Washington Native Plant Society. She never missed a deadline and she built what was acknowledged to be one of the best publications of its kind in the western states. Karen's expertise has been called upon for

Washington and of the alpine plants of the Cascade Mountains. Karen was active in the Lower Columbia Basin Chapter of the Audubon Society, and she attended many of their local field trips. She recently traveled to Baja and the Copper Canyon in Mexico, and to Costa Rica, studying the birds, plants and animals of those regions. Karen also traveled to Europe, Alaska and China. China captured her imagination and she marveled at her time there. In Karen's earlier years, she was an active mountaineer and trekker, having climbed most of the major, and many of the minor, peaks of the Pacific Northwest. According to the summit register, Karen was the seventh woman to ascend Mt Challenger in the Pickett Range in what is now the North Cascades National Park. Karen put many miles on her boots, back packing through the alpine meadows of the Cascades and the Olympics, where she developed her love of wildflowers and the natural history of the Northwest. Starting in the 1960's, Karen began a long involvement with salt water sailing with her husband, where she cruised Puget Sound, the American San Juans, the Canadian Gulf Islands, and as far north as Desolation Sound in Canada and as far south as the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean. One of her favorite pastimes during these numerous sailing trips was her interest in the maritime bird populations and other salt water flora and fauna. There will be no funeral or memorial ceremonies. In lieu of flowers, friends of Karen may make a donation to: The Washington Native Plant Society at PO Box 28690, Seattle W A 98118, The Nature Conservancy at 4245 N Fairfax Dr, Suite 100, Arlington V A 22203, or the Tri-Cities Chaplaincy Hospice at 2108 W Entiat Ave, Kennewick, W A 99336.

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  • I have such fond memories of eating lunch with Karen while sitting on top of a hill over looking the Sea of Cortez on the on the Audubon Copper Canyon Far Away Field Trip. Her knowledge of plants was such a wonderful additon to all our trips. Karen had a wonderful smile and laugh. She was truely a gentle beautiful person. My husband Tom and I send our most sincere condolences.

    Barbara Clarke
    November 4, 2014
    Benton, City, WA, US
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