Helen Marie Hinson, mother, grand- and great-grandmother, and mentor, passed peacefully in the presence of family on June 6, 2025 at Westwood Nursing and Rehabilitation in Decaturville. She was 89.
Helen was born August 29, 1935 in Henderson County to Onnie Edward and Lela Mae Small. She had eight siblings. Surviving is her brother, Elwood Small (Carol) and preceding her in death were two sisters, Mabel Pounders (Wes) and Mary Elizabeth Sego Holmes (Elvin Sego and Harvel Holmes) and five brothers, Willard Small (Doris), Waymond Small (Obie), John M. Small (Dovie), Ray Small (Virginia), and Charles Small (Oweda).
Her many interests included visiting parks and monuments, surprising her children and grandchildren with adventures, traveling to new places and meeting people. She also loved country dancing, catfish dinners, and singing, especially songs of worship.
Guided by an abiding faith, Helen studied Christian theology, taught bible classes and hosted women’s prayer and worship gatherings. She shared her love for Jesus with everyone she met and led by example.
In the 1970s through the mid-1990s, Helen managed a small business in Lexington, called “Rings and Things.” She got into the jewelry business in the late 1950s while working with her husband of nearly four decades, Charles Harold Hinson, who passed in 2005.
Helen is survived by her four children: Larry Brummett (Ellen Branham); Aleta Marie Devine (David Devine); Sandra Hinson (Richard Healey), Susan Hinson Weant (John Weant), and her grandchildren Melinda Beal, Wendy Maness (Larry Maness), Anna Burt, Emma Burt, and Arielle Davis (Courtney Davis).
Helen’s extended family also includes four great-grandchildren: Gabrielle Maness, Matthew Maness, Gavon Baker, who passed in 2016, and Garrett Brown. Blended families have added a number of step-grandchildren and great grands to the family, including Susan Weant and her daughter, Anna Montgomery.
Funeral services are scheduled for 11 AM, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in the chapel of Pafford Funeral Home in Lexington. Interment will follow in Henderson County Memory Gardens. The family will receive friends on Friday, 4 – 8 PM and on Saturday, 10 – 11 AM.
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations in her honor to the Henderson County Homeless Coalition at hchcbox723@gmail.com.
