Eugene Hinrich
Eugene (Gene) Hinrich passed away on July 4th, 2026, peacefully in his sleep at the age of 81 after receiving a lung cancer diagnosis a year prior.
Gene was born in Havre, MT. At the age of 5 he was removed from his home and placed in the orphanage in Twin Bridges, MT where he was raised until he enlisted in the military at the age of 17. He was initially in the Navy and then in the Marines where he was in a special operations unit until his discharge in 1968.
In 1973 he married Bessie Ann Ziegler in Corvallis, MT and began their family which would include two sons, William (Geneo) Hinrichs and Jeremy Hinrichs. In 1985 the logging and mill industry was slowing down which led them to move their family to Arizona. Gene went to work as a Foreman at Diversified Metal where he worked for 26 years proudly designing and fabricating glass block and gas fireplace casings, duct work and other special projects.
Gene and Bessie were married until Bessie passed away from injuries sustained in a car wreck in 1996. Later that year a friend of Gene’s introduced a pen pal to him, Shirley Rall, of Hamilton, MT. They fell in love starting with a pen pal relationship and married in September of 1997. At that time Shirley moved from Hamilton to begin their life together in Mesa, Arizona.
Upon Gene’s retirement they moved back to their roots in Hamilton, Montana. This is when Gene was able to embrace his love of gardening, mushroom picking, fishing, and hunting with the grandkids and friends. When Gene wasn’t enjoying the mountains he could be found taking a stroll with their fur-baby, Harley, and later the neighborhood dogs to the Hamilton Dog Park. He established friendships with two-and-four-legged friends that fulfilled his heart up until the day of his passing.
On June 30th, 2026, Gene’s wife, Shirley passed away unexpectedly at Bitterroot Health and within a few days Gene passed away, it is believed to be of a broken heart.
Gene left behind his sons William (Geneo) and wife Wendy, Jeremy, and stepchildren Richard (Glenda) Kearney, Sonja (Aaron) Kearney-Clark, and Somer (Shane) Hadley along with grandchildren Jake (Nicole) King, Joe King, Clifton (Baylee) Kearney, Sam (Mattaya) Kearney, Sierra (Michael) O’Leary, Ariel and great grandchildren.
There is a legacy that will include everlasting memories of Gene. There will not be a service per his request and the family will spread Gene and Shirley’s ashes at a later date. A memorial bench will be put in the Hamilton Dog Park and the Marcus Daly Mansion flower garden in their honor.
The family would like to thank every friend and walk of life that came into Gene’s life and showed him love and friendship.
Shirley LaVonne Hinrich
Shirley LaVonne (Rall) Hinrich passed away unexpectedly with family by her side on June 30th, 2026, at Bitterroot Health. She recently found out about her husband’s cancer diagnosis, of whom passed away on July 4th, 2026, four days after her passing. It is simply stated that they both passed away from broken hearts, but healing knowing they both lived long fulfilling lives.
Shirley grew up the youngest of 15 children. Stories were plentiful growing up in this large family. One recent story came up where her brothers all shared a room and her sisters all shared another room. The boys were known for their poker games, with one of them inevitably not being happy about losing and would flip the table. Shirley took this as a great opportunity as being the smallest to pick up any money that hit the floor and being the youngest, to get away with it.
Once everyone were adults it was always a treasure to see the sisters gather at one another’s house to finish quilts that were worked on over the winters as all kids were given a quilt to cherish. A tradition started by her mother, Maggie. They would can peaches and pears that her sister would bring from California and enjoy them for years to come, filling many pantries with love in a jar. The summers would typically end with a BBQ at her brother Rogers or her sister Kathy’s house accompanied by string instruments, spoons and beautiful voices going long into the night.
On January 10th, 1969, Shirley married James Kearney in Stevensville, MT and later divorced in July of 1992. Their marriage produced 4 children Richard, Sonja, Keri, and Somer.
In 1996 she began a pen pal relationship that turned into love and a marriage to Eugene Hinrichs in 1997. She then moved to Mesa, Arizona where she began a new chapter in her life as Mrs. Hinrichs, which was the beginning of their 29 year marriage. Upon Gene’s retirement they moved back to Montana to enjoy the mountain air and family. She continued gardening, canning, sewing, and more recently online books/story reading until her passing.
She is survived by her children Rich (Glenda) Kearney, Sonja (Aaron) Kearney-Clark, Somer (Shane) Hadley, step sons William aka Geneo (Wendy), and Jeremy, grandchildren Jake (Nicole) King, Joe King, Clifton (Baylee) Kearney, Sam (Mattaya) Kearney, and Sierra (Michael) O’Leary and her two surviving sisters Rosie and Lori. She is preceded in death by her daughter, Keri Lynn Kearney, and siblings Lou Ella, LaVerne Ruth, Lydia, Kathy, Stella, Caroline, Lorraine, Robert, Leo, Roger, Vern, and Darvin.
It is healing for all to know that she is rocking Keri, and standing by Gene, with a healed heart, under the grace of our Heavenly Father.
Shirley requested for there not to be a service and the family will spread Shirley and Gene’s ashes together at a later date. A memorial bench will be placed in the Hamilton Dog Park as Gene enjoyed the park and the friends that were made there and the flower garden at the Marcus Daly Mansion in memory of Shirley’s love for flower gardening.
Shirley’s children would like to thank the family and friends that showed a never ending love for Shirley.
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