Obituary of Margaret L. Hintz

Margaret Louise MacManiman was born in Santa Rosa, California on November 8, 1919. She was brought to Oregon as an infant, and so always considered herself a native Oregonian. She was the granddaughter of a Methodist minister and daughter of a classical musician, who often served as a church organist and choir director. She has been a member of Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church since 1984, volunteering in the church office and serving as deacon. She graduated from Grant High School in Portland Oregon in 1938, attended business college, and began her career as a legal secretary. After Pearl Harbor, she traveled to Washington, DC to work in the War Department steno pool. When her father became ill, she transferred back to Oregon to care for him, and worked for the Navy Department at Oregon Shipyard building Liberty ships, and the Veterans Administration Hospital. Margaret met her future husband, Emil Hintz, through a mutual friend, and married him in 1946. Emil, another native Oregonian, worked at Lockeed Aircraft during the War. He helped build bombers and worked on the Spruce Goose experimental airplane. An avid outdoorsman, he introduced Margaret to camping and fishing. He later qualified as a watchmaker, and operated his own business. Their marriage lasted 65 years, until they were separated by Margaret’s passing. Margaret and Emil lived for a time in Detroit, Oregon, where Margaret worked for the Army Corps of Engineers as secretary to the Project Engineer during construction of the Detroit Dam and her husband Emil operated his business as "The best watchmaker by a dam site". After the dam’s completion in 1951, they returned to Portland to live, work and care for Margaret's parents. Margaret had two children, daughter Margaret Christina born in 1952 and son David Richard born in 1956. She was active in her children’s schools, serving as PTA president all through her children's elementary school years, and volunteered in the community action programs growing out of the national War on Poverty. She was a founding board member, and later administrative assistant, in the SE Portland Action Committees Together (PACT), which evolved into the IMPACT program still serving the Southeast communities. Margaret assisted in the development of the Southeast Neighborhood Associations, and helped establish the Loaves & Fishes program and Southeast Uplift and a demonstration federally funded HMO, Cascade Healthcare. In 1967 Margaret returned to Civil Service with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as Administrative Officer for the Corps’ fleet of hopper dredges. She was responsible for the ships being fully crewed at all times, maintaining Coast Guard licenses, crew training, safety regulations, and working with the ship's clerks and radio operators to ensure full scheduling, supplies, docking facilities, and emergency help. Highlights of her work with the dredges included emergency dredging of the Columbia River during the Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980 which blocked the navigational channel of the Columbia River requiring emergency dredging, and a trip on the last steam driven dredge, Biddle, to San Francisco. On that trip, she was given the Captain's quarters and enjoyed royal treatment by all the ship's crew members. She played an administrative role in the retirement of the old steam dredges Pacific, Harding, and Biddle, and construction of the new replacement vessels, the Yaquina and Essayons. After Margaret’s retirement from civil service in 1984, she worked as office manager for her daughter’s ballet school, Renoux Dance Studio. She kept the studio office running smoothly, kept the books, and was the always-smiling and welcoming face greeting students at the front desk. Generations of dancers remember her time there with fondness. During these years, Margaret also volunteered in the office of Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church, and served as accountant for the Building Fund during the Church's renovation. She finally retired in 2003. Margaret and Emil lived for more than 50 years in their house on S.E. Main St. and enjoyed many summers of fishing, camping, and exploring the State of Oregon together. Margaret's life was distinguished by her great empathy, selflessness, and giving of herself to others. She single-handedly nursed her father, mother, mother-in-law, and helped with two of her siblings until their passing, and was as generous with her time and energy to her neighbors, community, and church as she was to her own family. Whenever there was a job to be done and no one to do it, Margaret was the person to ask, and she always came through with whatever was needed, plus more. Margaret passed peacefully away on October 30, 2011. She is survived by her husband, Emil, daughter Christina, son David, and many other loving family members. A memorial service will be held at Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church on Sunday, January 8, at 1:00 pm, with reception following.