William Hinds Iii

William Mullock Hinds III, a former military officer and long-time teacher of mathematics and science, died on June 9 at home in Tucson, Arizona. He was 87.\r\n \r\nBorn in Birmingham, Alabama, Mr. Hinds entered West Point Military Academy as a 17-year-old, the youngest in his class. He competed for West Point in gymnastics, and placed nationally in the pommel horse event. His love for athletics and exercise remained with him all his life, as he competed at club tennis around the world, and exercised daily until he had to abandon it the last few weeks of his life.\r\n \r\nHis military career took him from his first post after graduating from West Point in 1950 to Austria to Vietnam in the late ‘50s, and SHAPE headquarters in Belgium in the late ‘60s, interspersed with years working in the Southwest on weapons and missiles testing. He earned his master's degree in physics at the University of Virginia, while in the Army, and an MBA from the University of Arizona, after he retired from the military in 1970. He was awarded the Legion of Merit decoration in 1968 for his work with the computerized study of the air defense of the Field Army. \r\n \r\nMr. Hinds was single-mindedly passionate about learning and he doggedly pursued the "right answer" to any question, often at the expense of friends. His formal career as an educator included teaching at Catalina High School and Pima College (in Tucson), UT San Antonio, the Alamo group of junior colleges and Schreiner University. \r\n \r\nMr. Hinds's life was "informed by music and books." An avid reader and deep thinker, he spent decades working on his personal philosophy, beginning with "what is reality?" and ending with "what is art." The credo is based on 75 years of reading and thinking, and reflects his philosophy that an unexamined life is not worth enjoying. He was well known for his enthusiastic appreciation for good food, good scotch, good books and good dogs.\r\n\r\nPre-deceased by his wife Martha Crawford Hinds, of Kerrville, Mr. Hinds is survived by his former wife Alicia Edmunds Hinds of Tucson, and his four daughters from an earlier marriage: Susan Willcox Saunders, Budleigh Salterton, U.K.; Katherine Hinds, Hamden, Conn.; Elizabeth Gee, Las Vegas, Nevada; and Cynthia Willcox, Hamden, Conn. His 10 grandchildren also remember him with affection: Kealeilani Strench, Dallas, Tx; Anne Apodaca, San Diego, Calif.; Courtney Cannon and Jim Cannon, Dallas, Tx.; Kevin Gee and Patrick Gee, Santa Maria, Calif.; Jocelyn Gee, Los Angeles, Calif.; Rosemary Jane Saunders, London, U.K.; Trevor Gee, Phoenix, Ariz.; and Harper Hansen, Hamden, Conn.\r\n \r\nGraveside services will be held 2 PM, Friday, July 22, 2016 at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.\r\n \r\nTo honor Mr. Hinds's extraordinary love for dogs, gifts in his name could be made to your local animal shelter or the Humane Society.