William Hinds Obituary

William Lawyer Hinds
12/26/1927 - 07/23/2024
William Lawyer Hinds, MD, age 96 1/2, died peacefully July 23, 2024, in Houston, Texas. "Bill" was born in Watertown, N.Y., December 26, 1927, the son of Merretta Gotham Hinds and William Joseph Hinds. The family moved to Sandy Creek, N.Y., in 1928, where he attended Sandy Creek Central School until he was privileged to be accepted at Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Mass., where he felt that he was taught the principles of learning which greatly assisted his future academic endeavors.
Bill graduated from Deerfield Academy in 1946. He attended Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., graduating in 1950 with a B.A. degree. He was accepted at New York State Medical school in Syracuse, N.Y., and graduated in 1954 with his MD degree. He married June Leslie Billings and had three children, Joe, Jeff, and Cheri. They were divorced in 1959 and he married Marilyn Cilani in 1960 and had two daughters, Stephanie and Denise.
While in medical school, he enlisted in the U.S.A.F. medical R.O.T.C. program and was commissioned a first Lieutenant. He served a rotating internship at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver, Colo., from 1954-1955 and was promoted to Captain in the regular U.S.A.F. He returned to New York State Medical School in Syracuse where he accepted a three year residency in Radiology and Nuclear Medicine from 1955-1958. He was board certified by the American Board of Radiology in December 1958.
Bill spent the next five years as a staff radiologist in the U.S.A.F. His first assignment was at Ramey Air Force Base Hospital in Puerto Rico from 1958-1961 and was transferred to Wilford Hall Hospital at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Completing his five year obligation to the U.S.A.F., in 1963, resigned his regular commission and joined the Diagnostic Clinic of Houston in 1963 where he practiced his profession of Radiology for 31 years retiring in 1994. Bill was a member of numerous medical societies including the A.M.A., T.M.A., H.C.M.S., American College of Radiology and others. During his tenure at the Diagnostic Clinic of Houston, he became senior partner in 1966 and served on the board of directors, executive committee for several terms and participated in the planning and ownership of the Diagnostic Center Hospital which opened in 1967.
Bill enjoyed golf with friends and family, traveling especially by cruise ship, visiting parents in Florida, spending time on Grenell Island in the Thousand Islands, N.Y., and entertaining friends and family at their home in Houston, Texas. He was interested in politics and current events. He was the acting social director for years at Eagles Trace Retirement Community and enjoyed many lifelong friendships. Bill was preceded in death by his lovely and devoted wife, Marilyn A. Hinds; his sister, Catherine Hinds of Boston; his parents, William and Merretta Hinds of Watertown N.Y., and his first wife, June B. Ingraham of Sanibel and Ft. Myers, Fla. He is survived by his five children. His first three children from his marriage to June Leslie Billings are William Joseph Hinds (Ruth) of Australia; Jeffrey Hayward Hinds (Michele deceased) of Walker, Calif., and Cheryl Hinds Witz (Michael) of Jackson, Wyo. His two daughters from his marriage to Marilyn Hinds are Stephanie Fuller (Steve deceased) of LaPorte Texas, and Denise Hinds of Houston, Texas. Grandchildren include Amanda Webb, Jeffrey Witz, Katy Witz, Saxon Fuller, Sterling Fuller; as well as great-grandchildren, Riley Webb, Addison Jace Webb, Garrett Seals, Kaiden Fuller, Lars Fullerkelsch, Greer Fullerkelsch and Sebastian Fuller. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Dorothy L. Taylor of Houston, Texas; nephew. Jeff Powers (Sheila) of Houston, Texas; and niece An Hinds, of Boston; and nephew, Walter Hinds (Kelly) of Grenell Island, N.Y., and N.H. and numerous great-nieces and nephews and cousins.
It is his wish to be cremated and his ashes placed in the St. Lawrence River in between Grenell Island and "The Hub" in the Thousand Islands, N.Y. His family will gather at the family cottage on Grenell Island, N.Y., owned by Walter and Kelly Hinds to fulfill his wishes next summer.