Jack Wendell Hinshaw

Sometime near his 5th birthday, Jack spent about six months on the Hinshaw farm (his grandparents' farm) near Danvers, Illinois. He recalled the family having driven their Model T in the fall all the way from Chicago, only to have it become embedded in thick mud on the road leading up to the farm house. After trying to drive, dig, and pull the car out, it soon became entombed in the ground as the mud froze over. With no other good alternatives, the family decided to spend the winter at the farm. When spring arrived and the ground again thawed, they used a team of horses to free the trapped auto.

Jack's family was very poor through most of the Depression, and lived in apartments in the Hyde Park area of Chicago. Later they were finally able to afford a home, settling at 101st & Lowe, close to his aunt's house.

Jack and Lil were married in Will County, neighboring Cook County where they both lived, apparently in order attain some level of secrecy, as Lil was about two months pregnant at the time (daughter Jeannine was born the following April). Since such events were a social embarrassment in 1939 (especially for a good Catholic girl), the Catholic Church issued them a false marriage certificate bearing the date June 9, 1939, and Jack & Lil always told the family that June 9 was their marriage date. It was only shortly before Lil's death that she revealed their actual marriage date was October 5, and the family later found in her personal papers a state-issued marriage certificate bearing the actual October 5, 1939 date.¹

All of the other marriage entries in the Forster family bible recorded details such as the date and the name of the church where the ceremony was performed. Lillian and Jack's entry is simply "Lillian Katherine to Jack" (with "Hinshaw" written in later in a different hand in different ink).⁸ Apparently the Forsters were not pleased with her marrying a protestant "heathen" (plus the circumstances of the marriage).

Initially Jack and Lil lived for a short time with Lil's parents at 7621 S. Morgan on the south side of Chicago. They later settled into an apartment at 76th & Stewart. About 1945 they joined with Lola in the purchase of a three-story apartment building at 10934 S. Vernon Avenue (phone: COmmodore 4-4392). Jack and Lil raised their family in the first-floor apartment, Lola and Tootsie lived in the second-floor apartment, and the third floor was converted into two small rental units. The family's first-floor apartment was originally two small bedrooms, a living room, dining room, kitchen, and single bathroom, but an enclosed porch addition provided a third bedroom. They also purchased an adjacent empty lot, which doubled the usable yard space and made the Hinshaw yard the favorite gathering place for many of the neighborhood kids.¹

Jack initially held various jobs laying carpet, tile and linoleum. At one time he worked for Mandell's department store, where he did floor covering installations.⁹ During World War II, he was initially exempted because he had a young child, Jeannine. Later in the war he was again exempted because by then he was performing what was considered nationally important work - he was installing flooring at a factory which made war materials.⁹

On Oct 16 1940 Jack Wendell Hinshaw, age 23, registered for the World War II draft at 7851 S. Loomis St. in Chicago. He declared he was born 3-31-1916 in Bloomington, Illinois, and was then residing at 3531 W. 83rd St. in Chicago. He declared his relative/contact was his wife, Mrs. Lillian Catherine Hinshaw, of the same address. He declared he was employed by Walters Carpet Co., 7255 Vincennes, Chicago. He was recorded as 5'11" tall, 145 lbs., blue eyes, brown hair, light complexion.¹⁰

In the 1950s Jack partnered with his first cousin Bill Davison (son of his mother's sister Beatrice Doty Davison) and they started a floor covering business called Fernwood Flooring. They had a retail store in the Fernwood neighborhood on the south side of Chicago (10159 S. Halsted St.). They later expanded the business to include general construction, under the name Fernwood Builders. They at one time also partnered with a few other associates in a business called Lakestates Construction.⁹

On Feb 2 1959 Jack & Lil arrived in Chicago on American Airlines flight 692, having departed from Mexico^11,12 (they liked to vacation in Mexico during the winter).¹

In 1964 Jack & Lil purchased a residential lot in what was then the far south suburb of South Holland. Fernwood Builders built a new four-bedroom two-bath home there (15665 Gouwens Ln., phone: 339-9013) and the family moved-in about October, 1964.¹

Later in the 1960s, Fernwood Builders built several new homes on Shore Drive in the nearby suburb of Harvey, one of which became the new home for daughter Jeannine and her growing family.¹

In the latter part of his career, Jack found the income from Fernwood Flooring and Fernwood Builders to be not any better than what he could have earned working as an installer, so they dissolved the businesses and Jack began working again as an installer (not always full-time, as he gradually phased into semi-retirement). During this period he was a foreman working on the flooring for the construction of the Sears Tower.⁹

About 1980, having fully retired and their children all married, and no longer needing their large house, Jack & Lil bought a house in the neighboring suburb of Dolton (15423 Sunset Dr.)¹

Jack Wendell Hinshaw died May 16 1992, at his home, 15323 Sunset Dr., Dolton, Cook County, Illinois.^1,13 Medical: Jack died from lung cancer.¹ No funeral service or burial was performed as he had donated his body for medical research.¹

Lillian later sold the house in Dolton and moved into a condominium in the south suburb of Mokena.¹

Lillian Catherine Cecelia Forster died Nov 6 2002, Will County, Illinois.^1,3,7 Lillian died from a stroke.¹ No burial was performed as she donated her body for medical research.¹

A memorial service was held for her on Saturday, November 9, 2002 at St. Mary's Church in Mokena, Illinois, with many friends and family in attendence.¹

Lillian's death notice was published in the "Chicago Tribune" on Sunday, November 10, 2002:^1,14

Sources

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