C. Bruce Hinrichs' Obituary
C. Bruce Hinrichs, age 89, of Grand Haven passed away Thursday, December 29, 2022, at the Poppen Hospice Residence from congestive heart failure after a short illness. He was born January 28, 1933, in Cleveland, Ohio to Carl H. and F. Louise (Strong). He met the love of his life, Barbara A. Wronski at a friend’s wedding and they were married on August 20, 1960, in Detroit, Michigan.
Bruce was a proud alumnus of the University of Michigan where he was a member of the Theta Xi Fraternity and a life member of the Alumni Association. He was in the US Army ROTC during college and then served his country as a lieutenant at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX, training others to fire anti-aircraft artillery. Bruce graduated with a B.A. in Industrial Design and had over a 40-year career in the furniture industry (including 33 patents), ultimately retiring from the wood furniture division (the former Stow & Davis Co.) of Steelcase, Inc. He and Barbara were active at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Holland where he designed the church logo. Bruce enjoyed travel with Barbara, taking memorable trips to Austria, Japan, Brazil, Italy, and the Panama Canal. In retirement he served on the board of the Loutit District Library and the Tri-Cities Historical Museum. Bruce was a lifelong connoisseur of fine art, hi-fidelity stereo, classical music, theater, automobiles, and mid-century modern architecture and design, the culmination of which is the family home on Lake Michigan which was his pride and joy, and he will be greatly missed.
He is survived by his wife of almost 63 years, Barbara; three children: Lisa Hinrichs-Hodgini, Kirsten (Jay) McKillop, and Brant (Miki) Hinrichs; and four grandchildren: Kyle and Sean McKillop, and Eads and Fenn Hinrichs; grand dogs, Olive & Lovie.
A joint memorial service for Barbara and Bruce will take place on Saturday, June 17, 2023 at 12:00 PM at The VanZantwick Chapel of Sytsema Funeral and Cremation Services, 620 Washington Ave, Grand Haven, MI 49417. Interment will take place in the Grand Haven Township Historic Cemetery. Memorial contributions in memory of Bruce may be given to the Loutit District Library and the Tri-Cities Historical Museum. Please sign the family’s online guestbook at http://www.sytsemafh.com.
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