Kathy Hutchins Hintz--A Profile in Courage

Kathy Hutchins Hintz--one of our more recently "found" classmates--sent along a brief summary of her life since Northeast High School. The details speak for themselves--there's a lot of courage and a lot of sharing and giving to others.

Kathy writes: I graduated from FSU in 1962. I taught at Hartsfield Elementary School in Tallahassee for a year and then went back to graduate school at FSU.

I married Jim Brickley in 1964. I was the first female computer programmer in St. Petersburg. Worked at "First" (name changed to "Florida") Federal Savings and Loan, for 11.5 years.

Second marriage to Walter (Wally) Hintz in 1975. I eventually quit work to take care of my stepfather. Although I never had any children, I was a caregiver for both my husband and mother as they died from cancer and then my stepfather.

After Wally's death from cancer in 1977, I worked in several doctors' offices. After surgery for a benign brain tumor in 1983 I lost my hearing and balance on my right side. I went to work at Home Federal Savings and Loan (which became Barnett Bank). In 2006 they found two more tumors--one operable and one inoperable. I don't think of the tumors unless I'm explaining them. I feel so much better than I did the previous years.

The last 17 years my passion has been the Florida Orchestra. I put flowers in the dressing rooms backstage in Mahaffey Theater. (I started putting flowers in Tampa, Clearwater, and St. Pete.)

Through the years I've volunteered for The Florida Orchestra, Perkins Elementary Magnet School for the Arts, the Florida International Museum and counted money for my church.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you'd like to drop Kathy a note, her email address is Hintk@aol.com