Obituary: Helen Pauline Hinch Donan, 99, Louisville

Helen Pauline Hinch Donan, 99, of Louisville, died Tuesday, June 11, 2019. She was born in Burke, Tenn., but was raised in Cowan, Tenn. After high school, she taught at a one-room school in Anderson, Tenn. She attended Cumberland College in Lebanon, Tenn., where she met her future husband. She married Bill Oct. 19, 1940, in Cowan, Tenn. Shortly thereafter, the couple moved to Greenville, Ky.

After her husband returned from World War II, they began their family with the birth of their son, Thomas Arthur. They were dedicated members of the First Presbyterian Church of Greenville. She served as historian for the church for more than 50 years. She enjoyed participating in Greenville’s civic activities, especially the Women’s Club. She served as a Cub Scout Den Mother and transported her son and many other players to their youth baseball games. She enjoyed reading, corresponding, playing golf and bridge, arranging flowers, and attending plays. She took art lessons and painted.

She passionately loved history and genealogy, serving as a repository for knowledge of generations of families. She enjoyed traveling to different locations to research genealogy, whether it was for kin or not. She was a lifetime member of the DAR, Filson Club, Kentucky Historical Society, and a dedicated supporter of KET. She enjoyed touring with her husband, visiting every continent except South America and Antarctica. She reluctantly left Greenville in 2008 to live at The Forum at Brookside, where she made friends and played a few hands of bridge.

The family wishes to extend their extreme gratitude to the staff of The Forum and the staff of Helping Hands.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Virgil Hulen and Bettie Jane Davis Hinch; two sisters, Ethel Bernice Hinch Grant and Marjorie Elizabeth Hinch Warmbrod; one brother, James Morris Hinch; two nephews Kenneth Milton Grant and Gary Davis Warmbrod; and her beloved husband of 52 years, William Page Donan.

Her survivors include one son, Thomas (Janice) Donan of Bardstown; two granddaughters, Julie (Paul) Black of Lebanon, Ohio and Lisa (Todd) Whitney of Louisville; one great-grandson, Cole Alexander Whitney; and many cherished relations, including her nieces, Karen Grant Bain and Betty Gayle Warmbrod.

The memorial service is 2 p.m. Thursday, June 20, 2019, at the Forum at Brookside. A graveside service is 11:30 a.m. at Evergreen Cemetery in Greenville on Saturday, June 29, 2019.

Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to First Presbyterian Church of Greenville, 158 S Main St, Greenville, KY 42345; or the Harbin Memorial Public Library, 117 S Main St, Greenville, KY 42345.

The Cremation Society of Kentucky is in charge of arrangements.

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