Keith M. D. Hinton

Keith Milton Duane Hinton, 76, a beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away unexpectedly at his home in Stewartstown, Pennsylvania on February 1, 2025. Keith was, right to the end, a kind, compassionate friend to anyone who needed him and a warm and energetic spirit who would often greet the day by singing or humming to himself throughout the morning. He was a hard worker who devoted decades of his life to teaching students and coaching youth sports, followed by a post-retirement adventure as a Head Cashier at the local Home Depot, in New Freedom, Pennsylvania. He had a love and joy of life, and a keen appreciation for the small things: taking long summer walks with his wife Suzanne through the streets of Stewartstown, listening to oldies music from the sixties, catching up on the latest true crime movies on Netflix, telling silly puns and “Dad jokes,” eating pasta dinners, rooting for the Steelers, putting up elaborate holiday decorations, reading mystery and spy novels, and traveling to Oregon, Indiana, and New York City to visit his children and grandchild.

Born in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania, on December 2, 1948, to the late Mildred (Lutz) Hinton and Milton Hinton, Keith graduated in 1966 from Pen Argyl High School, where he was a gifted athlete. He ran track and field, played on the basketball team, and was an All State center on the Pen Argyl football team. In 1968, he enrolled in the U.S. Army and served for two years, earning the rank of Specialist 5 as a NIKE-HERC Air Defense computer operator. He served in Swedesboro, New Jersey, and was deployed to South Korea for his last six months of service. After an honorable discharge, Keith enrolled at Kurtztown University, earning both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in English Education.

In 1975, Keith began teaching English at South Eastern Middle School in Fawn Grove, Pennsylvania, where he worked for the next thirty-nine years. In addition to his role as an English teacher, Keith also served the school for five years as Dean of Students, and for one year as Acting Principal. His favorite short story to teach was Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” and he was a devoted grammarian; every year he looked forward to teaching a new crop of students how to diagram sentences. He was deeply involved in the school’s athletic programs, coaching basketball and football for many years. Keith’s dedication to the community continued outside of school hours; he coached intramural soccer and baseball teams, ran a summer computer camp, and built countless large-scale set pieces for the local church summer theater. He bragged about his functioning pyrotechnic cannons (still in production use) until the end of his life. After retiring from teaching in 2015, he spent a few months busying himself with home improvement tasks – Keith was a D.I.Y master, who could build a deck from scratch and who had strong opinions on the best way to mow a lawn and the proper way to hang Christmas lights. He soon found that he missed working, however, and he joined the staff of the nearby Home Depot, where he eventually became Head Cashier. He was excited to go into work every day, even if it meant waking up at 4:30 a.m. (to brew his signature mug of Keurig coffee) and driving to the Home Depot in the dark. He loved the chance to catch up at the store with his former students and their parents, and reveled in the opportunity to learn about how their lives had unfolded since middle school. He was always good humored about correcting any grammatical errors in these conversations, and was known to say, with a warm smile and a laugh, “Didn’t I teach you better than that?”

Keith is survived by his wife, Suzanne Hinton (neé Harr), whom he married on Valentine’s Day, 1969, and by his two sons, Joshua Hinton (married to Erin Morgan), and Erik Hinton (married to Rachel Syme). He has one adored grandchild, Xavier Hinton. He is also survived by two siblings, his sister Mary Jo McElhenny and his brother Kim Hinton. Keith is predeceased by his daughter, Kimberly Hinton, who he commemorated after her sudden death in 2019 by building a memorial butterfly garden in the backyard. He always said that his proudest accomplishment was seeing his children grow up into productive, good-hearted people, and believed that there was no greater legacy.

There will be a celebration of life service at Stewartstown United Methodist Church in Stewartstown, Pennsylvania (26 South Main Street), on Saturday March 1. The memorial will begin at 10 a.m. with an hour of visitation and conversation, followed by an 11 a.m. service and a luncheon at noon. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Kimberly S. Hinton Memorial Scholarship Fund in Bloomington, Indiana, which supports students in the Indiana University dance department.

Hartenstein Funeral & Cremation Care, Inc., 19 S. Main St., Stewartstown, PA 17363 is assisting the family with arrangements.