Stephen Hinrichs, (1918 - 2010) - ForeverMissed.com Online Memorials

Love,Learn,Labor,Laugh,Leave
(Steve's 5 most important
things in life)

92 years old
Born on March 7, 1918 in Maplewood, New Jersey
Passed away on September 19, 2010 in Rockland, Maine

This memorial website was created in the rememberance and celebration of Stephen Hinrichs.

"Inasmuch as I have no affiliation with any church or organized religion, no funeral ceremony should follow my death. I direct that my remains be cremated and the ashes committed to the waters of Penobscot Bay.

If it pleases my family and friends to gather for some sort of memorial, I have no objections. I ask them only to remember that I have had a full and rewarding life and that any gathering should celebrate the love they have given me and the good fortune I have enjoyed.

However, given that family and friends are scattered over the globe, it follows that no single gathering will be possible. Therefore, a website has been eslablished to enable those who wish to exchange remberances and sentiments."

Steve

Dear Friends and Family,

We know how much Steve meant to each one of you. We encourage you to raise a glass, recall good times and if some of you live close to one another to gather together and celebrate. We look forward to your stories and communications and accounts of your celebrations.

Please feel free to leave a tribute below, or on the Stories tab leave a remembered moment, quote or poem where you can also include a photo or a song to accompany your story. On the Gallery tab at the bottom of the page you have the ability to leave a photograph.

It would be lovely for us if at the bottom of your tribute or story you mention how you know Steve (AIC, Harley, John Burroughs, Rochester, Samoset, Vinalhaven, NYSAIS, etc.).

Thank you and love to all, Stephen's Family

address: Grace Hinrichs and Family, 45 Village Way #39, Rockport, Maine 04856

On the weekend of September 10-11, 2011 the whole Hinrichs family gathered in Rockport, Maine, to share memories of Steve and honor his wish to have his ashes scattered in the waters of Penobscot Bay where he loved to sail.

If you click on the "Stories" tab you will find a description of those wonderful days along with some poems and photos. Also, there are more photos in the Gallery tab.

When Stephen's ashes were scattered, daisies were also scattered into the waters of the Penobscot Bay. On some of those daisies notes were attached that were written to include everyone who ever sent words of tribute or love about Stephen whether in letters, email, verbally or in thought, you were all included in the day.

Thank you all, the Hinrichs family

Tributes

Leave a Tribute

September 19

Time passes and the living are striving to do our best. Thanks to the legacies of those like you Dad who have passed on. Today I'm being reminded by you to celebrate and take on the civic responsibilities you so avidly engaged in. You would love the interaction and wisdom of the natural world that has become more prevalent in our world these days from the indigenous cultures that have not lost those understandings. One book you would enjoy is "Braiding Sweetgrass". With appreciation for all you have taught us. Here's to you on the 13th anniversary of you passing. With love.

March 7

Happy Birthday, Stephen! The country is still battling for its democracy!

September 19, 2022

12 years,
Hello Dad, what I wrote last year still expresses what we are experiencing today and feel about you.
Always taking personal responsibility to live consciously ourselves, which affects the well-being of all people, the creatures of this living world and this beautiful planet.

Not allowing fear to be a ruler but Joy and Hope as the rudder that steers this boat.

Prem’s book and message “Hear Yourself, how to find peace in a noisy world” continues to be a life line for people all over this world. Their personal expressions of gratitude cuts through to previously untouched appreciation of the true nature of a human being.
Thank you Dad for putting me and so many others on this path of independence.
Love

September 19, 2021

Today 11 years ago you left this world. We still appreciate how you participated in this world with integrity, care and kindness. May we all do so well in this time we have to live consciously, treat all life with respect , be good stewards of this amazing planet and enjoy in the truest sense this gift we have been given. I know you would like this new book by Prem Rawat, " Hear Yourself " as you have always advocated for personal responsibility, and this book helps each of us do just that, with very freeing results. Love you, Ibi

March 8, 2021

Happy birthday, Mr. Hinrichs. You made a huge impact on The Harley School and so many, many, students. You are missed!

March 7, 2021

Happy Birthday Dad.
Would have been your 103rd! It is a beautiful day with sunshine and warmth, just like you radiated while here.
It being a spring day, I look forward to seeing a great blue heron again which I always associate with you. We carry on with input from the joy of nature and with living the kindness that is inherent in every human being.. and will be the key to our future.

September 19, 2020

Hi Dad,
Here we are 10 years on and the people are so much more engaged in our Democracy. The democracy that you were so passionate about. You would be happy to see the awakening that has happened with young and old alike to really participate and take this - living with equality for all - seriously. The passion that nature instilled in you is making itself heard again too. She is calling out to all to be conscious in everything we do. We have the chance to be involved in a big change , a change in what motivates us - away from the isolation that western ways have wreaked on the human psyche to the possibility of connecting to all of creation as an integral part. It is possible. I know you are cheering us on. with love, your daughter Ibi

September 19, 2020

Remember Steve fondly and would like the phone number of Grace or a family member.

September 19, 2020

And now we are joining you on this next great adventure, Steve -- thank you for being such a beacon in so many ways...

September 19, 2020

I can not believe it has been 10 years already. The lessons you taught me are still with me and always will be. To love and be loved is such a precious gift to receive and to share. To continue to learn about the world and yourself keeps us moving forward. To labor is to use all that we have for the betterment of ourselves and our society. To laugh at ourselves is to be certain that we don't take ourselves too seriously because we can be foolish sometimes, or maybe just playful? To leave is to take some of the pain with us as we go, but i have found that in leaving, wonderful memories remain; and we take some of the loneliness with us as we go. Steve and family, you are loved. Even if it has been years since we have been together. You are loved and remembered.

March 7, 2020

Dad, I came across this poem by the 2019 Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, and thought of you and all you taught me and allowed me to be. thank you.
Love continues always. Celebrating you on the anniversary of your birth. Ibi

Eagle Poem

To pray you open your whole self
To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon
To one whole voice that is you.
And know there is more
That you can’t see, can’t hear;
Can’t know except in moments
Steadily growing, and in languages
That aren’t always sound but other
Circles of motion.
Like eagle that Sunday morning
Over Salt River. Circled in blue sky
In wind, swept our hearts clean
With sacred wings.
We see you, see ourselves and know
That we must take the utmost care
And kindness in all things.
Breathe in, knowing we are made of
All this, and breathe, knowing
We are truly blessed because we
Were born, and die soon within a
True circle of motion,
Like eagle rounding out the morning
Inside us.
We pray that it will be done
In beauty.
In beauty.

Joy Harjo, “Eagle Poem” from In Mad Love and War.

September 20, 2019

Every time I read a newspaper, or daily, I think of Steve - who taught us how to read newspapers. AIC will be preserved forever by the Great Pond Mountain Conservation Trust, a most wonderful organization which all former AIC people should join. . .. Kitty Greve Darst

September 19, 2019

Every time I choose another biography of one of our Presidents, I thank Steve for pointing me in this direction. It has been an exciting and eye-opening journey for which I will be forever grateful. Thank you, Steve.

March 8, 2019

I'm still waiting for Steve's successor to appear.
By the way, does anybody know what's become of Alamoosook Island?

March 7, 2019

We'll NEVER forget - you will be with us always!

September 20, 2018

Celebrating you Dad, your humor, love, passion for life and all that you passed on to me. Right now in Australia, walking tracks and swimming in ancient pools that the Yugambeh people called home and took care of. I am continuing to be involved in nature's care and people's deepest connections to the wonder of life. Looking to find an out door sculpture to put at Harley that will be near the tree they are replanting in your honor, just one more visible reflection of what you have meant to so many students of life. with love this day and all days.

September 19, 2018

Hi, Grace,
As I leave Samoset Village after more than 30 years, I am most grateful for the wonderful memories of time spent with our wonderful neighbors, including Stephen and you. Today is also a sad day for me as Philip died two years ago on this same date. All the best to you.
Fondly,
Brenda Doherty

September 19, 2018

I have been serving at a summer camp for our inner-city kids for the past 14 years. We are out in the country for a month with 157 kids from age 7 to 17. It is a real blessing to serve in this way. As staff, one of the things we all talk about is our own summer camp experiences. I can not tell you how many times I have drawn from my experiences at AIC and the powerful leadership of my mentor Steve. I didn't know it at the time, but he was showing me "how it's done" in all the best ways. Steve was my teacher in so many ways. I will always love and respect him. I can not believe that it has been 8 years. Sending love and prayers to the family.We were so lucky to have him in our lives. Always Remembered. M+

April 27, 2018

We met Stephen (and Kate) aboard his boat "Tetra" at Bucks Harbour, Maine at the end of August 1984. He lives on in our cruising memories.
James & Frances - "Tara"
One year out from Gosport, England

March 7, 2018

Happy 100th, Stephen! So much has changed since you left us, but I still remember your wisdom. Our country could certainly use some of that today.

March 7, 2018

Dear Steve,
This would have been your 100th. I'd just like to say thank you for all those times I needed your guidance, and there you were. Your kind insistence and strong nudge got me through when I couldn't do it on my own. There have been times all throughout my life when I remember you for that great gift you gave me. You have been and continue to be a gentile giant in my life. I still draw from those lessons you taught us so well. Thank you for all you have done, and continue to do for me. Your example has been a great help.
Love to the family and Happy 100th Steve.
MDB+

March 7, 2018

We remember your birthday and think of you often. Thank you, Steve for opening to me the love of not just reading history and memorizing a bunch of facts but going deeper into the people who lived it and learning their motives and their personalities. Every time I pick up one of my "history" books, I am grateful for your pointing the way.

March 7, 2018

Dear Steve,

I remember you when I read the four newspapers each morning. I remember you when I wish for more intelligence in DC. Between JBS and AIC there are lots of thoughts of you daily. - Kitty

September 25, 2017

There was then a time
With Alamoosook I could rhyme
Thnking back on two Seasons
And us, in our prime

Last year I went back
And want you to know
Rowed around that island
With my husband in tow

Memories of “Temporary”*
Showed bright and so clear
So we built a new boat
At that school which is near

We drove to Wooden Boat School
They sold us wood, and glue and tool
In seven days a hull we concocted
And boy, we thought it mighty cool.

So now we row or go a-sailing
Grandkids, laughing, do the bailing
“Hard Hearted Hannah” our voices wailing
A tribute to you, Steve, our thanks never failing.

Neila Helmholz Williams
John Burroughs and AIC back in the 60’s
Ps I hope you real poets will be kind to these rhymes.

September 23, 2017

A hearty "Thank You" to the Hinrichs family and all who have maintained this site over the years. It is only right that we get a chance each year to remember Steve on his birthday and on the day of his passing to reflect on this man's life, the lessons that he gave us and the directions that he turned us toward. We don't often think of teachers as "givers", but that is what they are; giving of their knowledge, wisdom and time to help us realize the gifts that we were given. Thank you Steve for giving so fully to so many.

September 22, 2017

Steve, the years go by and your wisdom is missed every day as it was when I last left AIC. . . Kitty Greve Darst

September 20, 2017

All these years I thought that I was the only kid at AIC who struggled with finding their place in the world. Then I find that most of us were struggling. But Steve was the true teacher. Through his gentle voice and actions he led us to find ourselves and our place in community. There were others who did the same thing for us. But it was through Steve's leadership and guidance that AIC was the place it was. He was a brilliant person, teacher, mentor and friend. Thank you Steve for all you did for us. Truly you will never be forgotten and the lessons you taught us are still being taught to the ones coming up now.
Love always to the family.
Mike+

September 19, 2017

Thank you, Steve, for all you offered us struggling young ones, especially as a model for our own elderhood...

March 8, 2017

Gone, yet a strong link that holds us together even now.

March 7, 2017

Happy 99th Birthday Dad, In your honor today we are putting in some solar lights on the trees in front of the house, beacons of light in the dark, just like you were to me and so many others. Life continues to be an amazing adventure and I am so glad for the foundation you gave me.
This year is Harley's 100th and it would be fantastic if anyone wanted to honor Stephen by contributing to have his name sponsor one of the continuing Mindfulness and Empathy courses or one of the Civic engagement courses.(HarleySchool.org) If so contact me at: IbiPhotographyNow@gmail.com.
Dad, I know you would be quite engaged today and loving the renewed civic participation so many are choosing. Here's to continuing your clear vision and heart.

March 7, 2017

Always love checking in to this website on Steve's birthday. Love watching the slide show of his life, and especially some of the pictures of Victoria, Kate, Christian, and Ibi when they were growing up together. And today Ibi's beautiful tribute is below. He was a beacon of light to many, and mindfulness and empathy defined him. Thank you, dear Ibi, for posting your warm and thoughtful tribute.

March 7, 2017

Happy Birthday Steve! Gracie-thinking of Steve, you, and the family today and of all the good times we had together both aboard and ashore. Love

Nancy and Joe

September 24, 2016

I was just in Maine, where I first met, and knew Steve. We had a foggy day or two, and looking out on the water and searching, i remembered that Steve said, we all have our own personal mirage when looking into the fog for a buoy or a ledge. His, he said, was "3 men in a dory." I have never forgotten that. Mine seems to be an island with pine trees. Steve changed my life and I have not forgotten, nor will I.

September 19, 2016

Today is the 6th anniversary of Steve's passing. My last tribute in March 2016 on what would have been his 98th birthday says exactly the same thing I would say today. ForeverMissed is a good name for this website.

September 19, 2016

Happy birthday, Steve, wherever your sails are set.
Great site for a great guy--love all the pictures. Hi Gracie, the love of Steve's life. Nancy and I send along our love to you.

March 7, 2016

Happy birthday, Stephen! You are missed by many.

March 7, 2016

Forever missed, and yet in some ways always present since his wonderful spirit has been so much a part of my life. He would have been 98 today and I would love to have heard his comments on this particular election year! (I wonder if even he could find any comparable low points in American history when it comes to the level of discourse among the Republicans)!

September 20, 2015

Happy Birthday, Steve. We will miss you always. . .

Kitty and Guy

September 19, 2015

I can't believe it's been 5 years. We've had a week of fantastic weather this week at the Samoset. Steve would have loved the golfing on these days. He is missed.

September 19, 2015

Thinking of Steve today--and many many other days as well of course. Just back from a wonderful week in Santa Fe NM with Victoria and Robert who are both doing noble work with their art, Robert with fused glass, Victoria with her silk painting and her teaching of Aura Soma color therapy. They have good friends there and live close to the land outside of town with views of the mountains and the star-filled sky at night. It was a pleasure to share some of that. Steve would be pleased that we are still very much a close family. With best wishes to all, Grace

March 8, 2015

Happy Birthday, Steve! We still think about you and talk about you and probably we always will. . .

March 7, 2015

I wake to a brilliant snow covered morning, perfect for a downhill or cross country ski. Dad introduced us all to skiing with a flair. He being one of the first ever to bring a student group to Aspen, at that time a very sleepy little town. Who would think the high school students from a Missouri high school, John Burroughs, would be skiing pioneers? For this love and many other loves I salute and remember you today Dad on what would have been your 97th.

September 21, 2014

Great to have people continuing to check in and sometimes leaving remembrances full of fondness and gratitude. As a friend of mine said to me once, "He was a prince!" Needless to say I continue to miss him. With best wishes to all, Grace

September 20, 2014

Dear Steve, Still miss you as a friend and as a teacher - it doesn't get better as the years pass. I'm sure you're part of me! Much love to all,
Kitty Greve Darst, JBS '56, AIC '58. '59

September 20, 2014

Steve helped us all to believe in ourselves and have the patience to discover our special gifts. He did everything with integrity and a wry sense of humor. Somehow his threats, at AIC 1968, to call me Big Daddy Barn Smell turned me into a hygiene freak. At Harley he set the tone and direction of the school while being available to the students. No doubt his students and campers have a host of unusual accomplishments that would impress the world, generate many humorous stories, and inspire the next generation. A great mentor.

September 19, 2014

I wrote my term paper for Steve thinking plagiarism meant not quoting sources exactly while using them for my own writing. So I changed at least one or two words in each I pretended were my own. I got a C+ (a gift, I think) with the comment, "An interesting paper written in a style somewhat more mature than you own." Never forgot that or Steve...

September 19, 2014

Wishing comfort to those with such fond memories

September 19, 2014

SO nice to be able to visit Steve again on these pages. Gracie, we're thinking of you and the family on this bright and beautiful day and send our best love! Cheers! Nancy and Joe

Harley, Rochester, Bristol Harbour, Maine and the Mid Atlantic

September 19, 2014

Booth and I are planting a memorial maple today to celebrate Dad's life. It is a crystal clear warm fall day here at Laughing Water, Augusta,West Virginia just the kind he loved. There is a slight breeze blowing and the very first of the Shasta daisies is just about to bloom, I think it will be open by the end of the day. Today feels like Dad, always renewing his love of learning, engagement, and participation in life. The hummingbird family is having a ball at the feeder, dancing together in the air and chirping their communication. All nature is saying, as I can hear Dad saying, "Life is a foot, be a part of it." lots of love to all, Ibi and Booth (photo added in that section)

September 19, 2014

Time passes so quickly. It hardly seems possible that Steve has been gone 4 years. Philip and I think of him when we look out our window on the 17th hole of the Samoset. He was a special person and is greatly missed.

Page 1 of 3

Leave a Tribute

Recent Tributes

September 19

March 7

Happy Birthday, Stephen! The country is still battling for its democracy!

September 19, 2022

View all 118 tributes

Gallery

Aspens celebrating Dad at Victoria & Roberts

View all 120 items

Sometime at Eve

September 19, 2017

This is a poem that was read at my grandfather's funeral and both of my parents funerals. My Mom taught typing at Harley while Steve was headmaster there and I substituted for her there when she took a trip with my Dad. I graduated from Harley in '58 and my Mom graduated from Harley in '33. Our family loved sailing, and my Mom raced her sailboat on Lake Ontario. When someone who enjoys sailing passes away, this poem always reminds me of the person. Barb (Poole) von Schilcher

Sometime at Eve

Sometime at Eve when the tide is low

I shall slip my moorings and sail away

With no response to a friendly hail

In the silent hush of the twilight pale

When the night stoops down to embrace the day

And the voices call in the water's flow

Sometime at Eve When the water is low

I shall slip my moorings and sail away.

Through purple shadows

That darkly trail o'er the ebbing tide

And the Unknown Sea,

And a ripple of waters' to tell the tale

Of a lonely voyager sailing away

To mystic isles

Where at anchor lay

The craft of those who had sailed before

O'er the Unknown Sea

To the Unknown Shore

A few who watched me sail away

Will miss my craft from the busy bay

Some friendly barques were anchored near

Some loving souls my heart held dear

In silent sorrow will drop a tear

But I shall have peacefully furled my sail

In mooring sheltered from the storm and gale

And greeted friends who had sailed before

O'er the Unknown Sea

To the Unknown Shore

- by Elizabeth Clark Hardy

sprinkling daisies/ daisy chain of love

September 21, 2013

An email thread on the 19th between family members:

1)Remembering Dad today. His laugh, his dance steps, his love of life, his love of each of us, his passion for teaching and his passion for kids thriving.
Continuing to sprinkle some daisies today by any bits of kindness that show themselves to me today. As simple as a smile with a friend or stranger.
Thank- you Dad.
Love to you all, Ibi

2) Dad 's energy shining down on us all
love to everyone , Victoria (photo)

3) energy flowing to England ,thoughts with all, Love/Hugs Kate (on a trip to England and France)

4)Thank you for starting this daisy chain of love.
Remembering Dad, Mary and Christian

5)Thinking of all of you on this day. Hugs and blessings.
Love, Rebecca

6)Catching up with this "daisy chain of love" as Mary put it so well. As for the Day of Remembrance itself, for me, and no doubt for a lot of you as well, every day is a day of remembrance. He's always with us. And as for dates, the ones I like best to remember are his birthday... the day we first met..., the day we were married,... the day I saw the ad (for that matter!),…. the day we all celebrated his life with that wonderful schooner ride out into the bay on a spanking wind, --things he would have preferred to remember too.

7) So true Grace, I see this day as one of many, on this one he gave me an experience of calm and clarity, so fully engaged in his life, how he would pass and how it was all good. The comng day and the going day and all that lies between.

An earlier vignette

May 14, 2013

I was a counselor at AIC in 1961 (Dick Thompson n.b., you were there that year), and while the experience shaped me profoundly, setting me on a course that led to progressive education (Nat French's North Shore Country Day), thence Quaker education, thence alternative Quaker schools and Quakerism itself, I want to add a second-hand recollection, from Bob Smith, who was Head of School at Sidwell Friends for several years while I was there. Like Steve, Bob served in the army during WWII, and with Steve at the Battle of the Bulge. Not a experience either of them talked about much. Bob only said that Steve, as his platoon leader, was an island (there's the image) of calm and reassurance in the midst of terrifying chaos. I can believe it (see an extraordinary made-for-TV series called Band of Brothers to see more -- one episode takes place there), and I wonder about the impact of that experience on Steve. It must have strengthened him, but was there more? Others may have some answer for that...