from the USTA Communications Department

Columbus, OH —Kermit Leon Hinshaw, 95, of Richland, Iowa, died Nov. 4, 2014, at SunnyBrook Living Care Center, Fairfield, Iowa.

He was born March 25, 1919, in Richland, Iowa, the son of Loren Levi and Gertrude Pearl (Shy) Hinshaw. He graduated from Richland High School in 1936 and attended William Penn College for a brief time.

Kermit Hinshaw

Mr. Hinshaw was united in marriage to Janet Anne Trigg on Oct. 5, 1941, at the home of the bride’s mother in Richland, Iowa. The couple lived in Richland their entire married life.

Soon after their marriage Mr. Hinshaw was drafted into the army. He became a T5 expert tele-typist in the 250th Signal Corp. He served in the European theater throughout World War II and was in the 7th Army with General Patch.

During the war he played his fiddle for the Henault Mountaineers and continued playing the fiddle and mandolin throughout his life. Five of his army buddies and he planned to stay in contact after the war. They met every other year thereafter. These men were so close to each other that they were more like brothers than simply friends.

When the war ended, Kermit and Janet farmed, raised cattle and hogs on the Hinshaw family farm east of Richland. In 1951 he built the Hinshaw Oil Company at the south edge of Richland and later added a restaurant. A feed store was built next to the gas station a few years later and finally a propane plant.

During the gas station years Mr. Hinshaw never forgot his young childhood love of horses. He decided to buy his first Standardbred mare, then later he purchased a Standardbred stallion, Tryax. This started a love affair that turned into a 60-year career with Standardbred horses.

He was a Standardbred owner, trainer, driver, farrier, breeder, owner of a horse sale company and at times his own vet. He raised hundreds of colts and trained many of them on the half-mile track he built at the Hinshaw Homestead Farms. He was well known for purchasing and selling Standardbred horses throughout the United States and Europe.

His most famous horse, Jodevin 1:59, was the 1976 national 2-year-old Trotter of the Year, winning 21 of 22 races. Other top Standardbreds trained and raced by Mr. Hinshaw were Scottish Key, Emily Dixie Lee, Sailing Sally, Coleman’s Baby, Jimbo Adios, Installed, Curtain, Kenda and Oxford Brilliance, to name a few.

He was instrumental in starting the Iowa Hawkeye Colt Association to promote Standardbred colt racing throughout Iowa. He was the president of that association for nearly 20 years. He was inducted into the Iowa Harness Horse Hall of Fame.

Mr. Hinshaw also served as a Director for District 4A of the United States Trotting Association. He later was named Director Emeritus of the USTA.

Family genealogy was something he always enjoyed. He was the family historian. People often contacted him seeking information about their relatives.

Mr. Hinshaw loved his hometown of Richland and for several years he was considered the Richland historian. If someone came to town wanting to know some Richland information they were usually sent to Mr. Hinshaw to find their answers. Over the years he wrote about his many memories of Richland. He always supported Richland and encouraged its growth.

He was a faithful member of the Woolson Friends Church in Richland until he had to move to the nursing home. He loved the Lord and was not afraid to tell others about Christ and encouraged young people to attend church and make sure their lives were on track with the Lord.

He had a great love for his wife, children, and a special love for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Mr. Hinshaw is survived by his children, John (Reka), Emily (John) Emonin, Korwin (Judi) and Sallie (Terry) Hayes; grandchildren, Lorraine (Don) Potter, Amy (Andrew) Nyren, Mark Ryan (Kirsten), Amanda (Nick) Brown, Kelsie (Jeremy) Roland, Derek Hayes, and Kirsten (Matthew) Harken; great-grandchildren, Grant Potter, Benjamin Potter, Elliot Potter, Abraham Potter, Riley Brown, Lillian Brown, Eleanor Brown, Korwin Michael Brown, Ella Nyren, James Nyren, Taylor Hinshaw and Paul Roland; and one sister-in-law, Harriet “Peggy” Kavanagh. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Janet Anne (Trigg); brothers, Loren Keith and Kevin Dean; brothers-in-law, William Trigg and Paul Trigg; and sisters-in-law, Donna Hinshaw and Grace Trigg.

Celebration of life services for Kermit L. Hinshaw will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 8) at Woolson Friends Church, Richland, Iowa with Rev. Frosty Van Voorst officiating. Visitation will begin at 4 p.m. Friday (Nov. 7) at Woolson Friends Church. The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. Interment will take place at Richland Friends Cemetery, Richland, Iowa.

Memorials have been established to the Woolson Friends Church, Richland Friends Cemetery and the Christian Harness Horsemen’s Association.