Hobson E. Vinson, 95, of Athens, Alabama, died Saturday, Aug. 1, 2020, at Huntsville Hospital.
There will be a graveside service with military honors 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, at Athens City Cemetery with Bud White officiating. No visitation is planned due to COVID-19. Spry Funeral Home is directing. The family asks those attending the graveside service please wear a mask and social distance to help contain the spread of COVID-19.
Mr. Vinson was born and raised in the Lester/Salem community. His parents were James Hobson and Merle (Glanton) Vinson.
Mr. Vinson was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Houston Vinson; sister, Rachel McNatt; wife of 59 years, Katherine (Price) Vinson; and son, Wayne Vinson.
Survivors include two sons, Eddie (Yolanda) Vinson, of Arlington, Texas, and Dan (Bonnie) Vinson, of Athens, Alabama; two daughters, Kay (David) Reeves, of Athens, Alabama, and Brenda (Ed) Johnson, of Boyds, Maryland.
He is also survived by two sisters, Donnie Williamson and Judy Jackson, both of Athens, Alabama; and one brother, Billy Vinson, of Pensacola, Florida; eight grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; three great-great-grandchildren; as well as many nieces and nephews.
Mr. Vinson was a member of Northside Church of Christ from the 1960s, and attended until his health no longer allowed him to do so. His faith was very important to him. Even though he could not attend church in person, he watched services on TV, read his Bible and prayed every day. He was always telling his family to “put God first.”
Mr. Vinson lived through the Great Depression and was a World War II veteran. He liked to ride around his old stomping grounds of Leggtown, Dupree Holler and Chapman Holler and tell stories about those “old” days. He had a good memory and would tell us who used to live where and how they survived the depression. He would also tell us stories of being in the Army and in WWII.
He loved gardening and made sure his children knew how to raise a garden, whether they wanted to or not. He did eventually pass along his love of gardening to all his children.
Later in life, he got the genealogy bug. He worked hard tracing some of his ancestors and got all the way back to the 1700s. Also later in his life, he discovered he had a talent for oil painting. Many family members’ homes are adorned with his beautiful paintings.
He was fiercely independent and could be stubborn at times; maybe that is what got him to be almost 96-years old. He is loved by many and will be missed by many.
Memorials may be made to the Alabama Veterans Museum.
