Obituaries

HINTON BRADBURY
August 15, 1941- June 12, 2024
By Hinton’s Daughters

Hinton Bradbury was born in Quitman, Georgia, U.S.A. and grew up in Florida, U.S.A. His mother, Betty Donaldson, was a journalist and newspaper editor, and his father, O. H. Jr., was a photographer; he was their only child. Hinton graduated from Coral Gables High School in 1959, where he was a member of the swim team and played clarinet in the marching band. In college, he continued swimming competitively. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Miami in 1963. In high school and college, Hinton worked for the Miami Herald newspaper, where he was the press boy as well as the son of an editor. After graduating from college, Hinton continued at the University of Miami as a master’s student in English Literature. While completing his thesis on the Romantic poet John Keats, Hinton taught English at the Miami-Dade Junior College, where he met his first wife, Gail Jordan. Around this time, Hinton decided to refocus his career toward becoming a psychologist; he took some additional courses at UM and then applied to doctoral programs.

Having never seen snow, and with a desire to experience a different political climate, Hinton chose the University of Alberta. He and Gail moved to the Edmonton area in 1965, settling on a windswept patch of rural Spruce Grove; they kept horses and bred St. Bernard dogs, and started their family. Their three daughters, Kirsten, Jessica, and Clara arrived while Hinton completed his Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology. Working under his mentor, Dr. Tom Nelson, Hinton conducted research on children’s cognitive development. After earning his Ph.D. in 1972, Hinton worked for the Center for Advanced Study in Theoretical Psychology under Dr. Joe Royce.

In 1974, Hinton and his family moved to Winnipeg, where he had been hired as Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Winnipeg. There, Hinton conducted research on transitivity in children’s novelty preferences, developed rigorous academic courses, and worked tirelessly with other faculty and administration to elevate the quality and reputation of the department and university. A Freudian scholar, he shared his knowledge by developing and conducting advanced Freud courses for his students, including Advanced Freudian Personality Theory, Freudian Analysis of Film, and an intensive small-group seminar on Freud that over time gained an almost mythic reputation for being both exceptionally difficult and life-changing. Even his lecture courses, like Intro to Psychology and Developmental Psychology, included substantive reading and writing requirements. Teaching was a huge part of who Hinton was as a person, and he gave enormously of himself to his profession. Deeply dedicated to his students and to the profession of teaching, Hinton inspired generations of undergraduates to go on to careers in psychology. He was an inquisitive and curious person intellectually and remained freshly fascinated by human behaviour and the study of psychology until the very end of his life.

In addition to his accomplishments at the University of Alberta and the University of Winnipeg, Hinton spent time as a visiting scholar at other universities over the years. In particular, he and his family spent 1978-79 in France while he taught and conducted research at l’Université de Maromme, co-publishing a paper with Prof. Michel Moscato. He also spent a summer as visiting faculty at the University of Victoria (B.C.) in 1976 and at the University of Georgia (U.S.A.) in 1999. He published academic papers in every decade from the 1970s to the 2000s. Additionally, he frequently contributed his expertise to the community and to important social projects. For example, he was instrumental in helping found and launch the Winnipeg Children’s Museum, and for years he taught a class for inmates at Stony Mountain Institution.

Hinton kept busy in his personal life as well. Always athletic, he ran regularly for decades and played racquetball competitively, travelling to regional tournaments in Canada and the U.S. He particularly enjoyed playing doubles with Tom Marshall and Danielle Levine. He taught youth racquetball at the YMHA and was a beloved mentor to many young Winnipeg racquetball players. He met his second wife, Diana, at the YMHA in 1984. They fell in love and married in 1991. They spent the next 33 years working and enjoying their life in Winnipeg, surrounded by friends and family, often travelling on road trips to visit Hinton’s daughters and their growing families, as well as Diana’s sister and her family.

Always an intrepid handyman and do-it-yourselfer, Hinton spent countless hours fixing up his house, a 1912 three-story in Wolseley that had been badly neglected before he moved in with his family in 1975. He had high standards. Every single piece of woodworking had to have the paint taken off, to return it to its original beauty. Radiators had to be refurbished not replaced, the bricks for the driveway were harvested from demolitions of other buildings from the same historical period. There were electrical and plumbing projects, moving walls, refinishing the hardwood floors, building stairs and decks; he learned how to do it all. His energy level was so high, that many summers, he built decks for neighbours.

Hinton also constructed large, elaborate dollhouses for the children of family and friends. With hand-chipped cedar shingles for the roofs and Victorian detailing to echo the woodwork in his own home, each work of art took months to make. The first and largest of these dollhouses, built for his three daughters in 1976, remains in use today in the playroom of Kirsten’s office. Hinton’s legacy is clear in his eldest daughter’s choice of profession (she is a professor and clinical child psychologist). He also had a big influence on the career paths of Jessica, a historian and woodworker, as well as Clara, a writer and marketing communications executive. His eldest granddaughter, Jane, is a Ph.D. Botanist, and his eldest grandson, Calvin, is completing doctoral studies in atmospheric science. His six younger descendants (four younger grandchildren, Marley, Parker, Althea, and Lawton, and two great-grandchildren, Elle and Linnaea) range in age from 9-15 years now. They loved playing hearts and riding the Zilker train with their granddad/great-granddad during their annual summer beach trips, and staying with him and their grandma Dini in Winnipeg. It is for them that we are saddest at his passing.

Hinton died after a brief but devastating illness. He taught class hours before he was hospitalised and spent the last two weeks of his life surrounded by his wife, daughters and extended family while ICU doctors attempted to save his life. He remained hopeful and frequently expressed gratitude for the heroic efforts of his medical team. He ate some of his favourite foods, laughed with us, watched tennis on TV, and talked and talked with visitors and nurses. He maintained his zest for living until the very end. He died peacefully, with his final moments lovingly surrounded by his wife Diana, his sister-in-law Elaine Glass, his niece Leanne Glass and nephew Jason Glass.

While this chronology can tell you the facts of Hinton’s life, we struggle to really give you a sense of the power of his personality. He was a big person, whether he was in front of a class, grilling a steak, or playing pool in a dive bar. He loved convivial gatherings and had refined taste in food and wine. His sense of humour was legion. Quirky and eccentric, he taught us independence. He was a man of deep convictions, and strong opinions about most matters of any importance. He was fiercely loyal to his many friends. He was well-read and his intellect was apparent every time he spoke. The answer to any question was given in full paragraphs, usually with several words any listener would have to look up in a dictionary. His style was impeccable; until recently he wore suits to lecture and had a penchant for vintage British touring cars. He taught us attention to detail and to bother doing something right, whether when preparing a presentation or mixing a cocktail. He could be very serious, but he knew how to have a good time. He was awesome.

He loved us every day of our lives. We will miss him for the rest of our days without him.