Eugene (Gene) Hinrich passed away on July 4 th , 2026 peacefully in his sleep at the age

of 81 after receiving a lung cancer diagnosis a year prior.

Gene was born in Havre, MT. At the age of 5 he was removed from his home and

placed in the orphanage in Twin Bridges, MT where he was raised until he enlisted in

the military at the age of 17. He was initially in the Navy and then in the Marines where

he was in a special operations unit until his discharge in 1968.

In 1973 he married Bessie Ann Ziegler in Corvallis, MT and began their family which

would include two sons, William (Geneo) Hinrichs and Jeremy Hinrichs. In 1985 the

logging and mill industry was slowing down which led them to move their family to

Arizona. Gene went to work as a Foreman at Diversified Metal where he worked for 26

years proudly designing and fabricating glass block and gas fireplace casings, duct

work and other special projects.

Gene and Bessie were married until Bessie passed away from injuries sustained in a

car wreck in 1996. Later that year a friend of Gene’s introduced a pen pal to him,

Shirley Rall, of Hamilton, MT. They fell in love starting with a pen pal relationship and

married in September of 1997. At that time Shirley moved from Hamilton to begin their

life together in Mesa, Arizona.

Upon Gene’s retirement they moved back to their roots in Hamilton, Montana. This is

when Gene was able to embrace his love of gardening, mushroom picking, fishing, and

hunting with the grandkids and friends. When Gene wasn’t enjoying the mountains he

could be found taking a stroll with their fur-baby, Harley, and later the neighborhood

dogs to the Hamilton Dog Park. He established friendships with two-and-four-legged

friends that fulfilled his heart up until the day of his passing.

On June 30 th , 2026 Gene’s wife, Shirley passed away unexpectedly at Bitterroot Health

and within a few days Gene passed away, it is believed to be of a broken heart.

Gene left behind his sons William (Geneo) and wife Wendy, Jeremy, and stepchildren

Richard (Glenda) Kearney, Sonja (Aaron) Kearney-Clark, and Somer (Shane) Hadley

along with grandchildren Jake (Nicole) King, Joe King, Clifton (Baylee) Kearney, Sam

(Mattaya) Kearney, Sierra (Michael) O’Leary, Ariel and great grandchildren.

There is a legacy that will include everlasting memories of Gene. There will not be a

service per his request and the family will spread Gene and Shirley’s ashes at a later

date. A memorial bench will be put in the Hamilton Dog Park and the Marcus Daly

Mansion flower garden in their honor.

The family would like to thank every friend and walk of life that came into Gene’s life

and showed him love and friendship.