Audrey June Hinrichs

Audrey June Hinrichs age 87 of Laurel, Nebraska died on Wednesday, August 3, 2022 at Parkview Haven Nursing Home in Coleridge, Nebraska. Funeral services will be on Tuesday, August 23, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Laurel with the Rev. Patrick Broz officiating. There will be a private family burial at the Laurel Cemetery in Laurel, NE. The family will receive friends from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. at the church. Arrangements are under the direction of the Wintz Funeral Home in Laurel. Pallbearers will be Dusty Newton, David Sohler, Ron Jelinek, Lee Dahl, Tom Dahl and Kevin Rasmussen. Audrey was born October 15, 1934 in Randolph, NE to William and Nina Cunningham. She grew up on a farm outside Randolph and graduated from Randolph High School in May, 1952.  On July 23, 1952 she married George Hinrichs of Laurel.  George was in the military at the time and she lived with him during the early months of their marriage in Colorado Springs, CO while he was in basic training.  Then when he shipped out to Korea, she moved to Laurel working for and living with Darrel and Carrie Dahl.  She was nanny to their two sons, Tom and Lee, and helped out wherever they needed it.  She came to consider them as family and she cherished them for the rest of her life. Upon George’s discharge from the military, she moved with George to northeast of Laurel where they farmed for approximately 40 years.  In 1994 she and George retired from farming and moved to an acreage north of Laurel where they remained until Audrey moved to Laurel upon George’s death in 2021.  She was a hard working farm woman, all the while tending the house and raising their 3 daughters.  She worked for a time as a cook in Laurel, was involved in her church, including teaching Sunday school for many years and being part of Women’s Circle. She enjoyed cooking, baking and entertaining.  She always looked stylish. She was a devoted grandmother to her grandchildren in Seattle, always making a point of being with them for their birthdays and important events.  She loved entertaining them when they came to visit the farm. And she was devoted to those she thought of as grandchildren in her heart.   She will be dearly missed. Audrey is survived by three daughters, Pam Hinrichs (William Starks) of Seattle, WA and their children Sam Starks of Seattle, WA and Madison Starks of Tarzana, CA; Michell Hinrichs of Omaha, NE; Mitzi Hinrichs (Bob Merry) of Seattle, WA; two sisters, extended family and many dear friends and neighbors. She was preceded in death by her husband, George Hinrichs, her parents William and Nina Cunningham, 9 sisters and 2 brothers. The family requests that any memorials be sent to the Laurel United Methodist Church.