Individual Details
Leon Clifford Hines
(10 Jun 1922 - 24 Feb 1997)
Printed in the Benkelman, NE Post, March 1997
Leon Clifford "Bill" Hines
Leon Clifford "Bill" Hines was born in Benkelman, Neb., on June 10, 1922, to Leon L and Keturah E. (Sipe) Hines. He died peacefully at Dundy County Hospital in Benkelman on Monday, Feb. 24, 1997, at the age of 74 years, 7 months and 14 days.
Bill had a tremendous gift with the written word. His ability to see directly to the core of a situation and then to write about it with incredible wit and wisdom made most every writing of his a pleasure to read, and often reread. In 1991, as a gift to his children, Bill wrote a 75-page "book" titled "My Story." This tribute to Bill will often quote from that book.
Bill was raised in Benkelman by Leon and Kate. Bill wrote, "Leon was a lawyer but also a thwarted show-man: He acquired three little silent-movie theaters at Haigler, Benkelman and Stratton which we had until I started school." He continues, "One of my early recollections is being unmercifully teased by Ward Bond of the later Wagonmaster TV fame. Ward and a fellow named 'Bill' worked at the Benkelman movie theater. In fact, this tale is the source of my name Bill: I really never cared for the name of Leon so I adopted the name of my pure hero, at about age four—and it has stuck. Bill wandered off and didn't turn out to be much and by the time Ward got famous, I was way too damn old to start calling myself 'Ward.' Ah well. win some, lose some."
Bill enjoyed his schooling in Benkelman and graduated as valedictorian in May 1939. After high school Bill went to the University of Nebraska, College of Business Administration. Of his decision to pursue a career in law, Bill wrote. "I was wavering pretty badly between law and medicine, so I signed up for the latter. We had the day when they sorted out the ribbon-clerks by seating us in an overhanging balcony where it was hot, ether-saturated and dark, to watch surgery in progress. Lordy, what a bloody mess. I could see right off that my future laid more in the direction of sorting ribbons. So to law school I went for the year 1942-43."
But World War II intervened. He wrote. "After seventeen weeks of Army Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, I finally got my prized commission and officer's ID card." In September 1944, Bill was assigned to the 106th Infantry division and deployed in the European Theater of Operations. Of his departure from New York, Bill wrote, “Watching the Statue of Liberty sink into the western horizon was about the low point of my life as I surely never expected to see it again.. On Dec. 16, 1944, Bill was engaged to the Battle of the Bulge. “I was, in a sense,” he wrote, “lucky to be the Forward Observer that day. The initial bombardment was concentrated clear to hell and gone behind me. Well, this left me and my driver beautifully camouflaged and of no danger to anybody, totally stranded all by ourselves with nobody to talk to because the G-2, totally terrified, jerked out the switchboard, threw it in his command car, and was never seen again.” As many of the young men of this time. Bill found WWII to be at once terrifying and exhilarating. He tells many war stories, stories of fear and fatigue, of victories and losses, and all are filled with the antics and stunts of young boys convinced their lives are nearly over. Shortly after VE day, Bill became ill and was air-evacuated back to the States. “As we neared home” he wrote, “our pilot, really a hotdogger, even by Dundy County standards, descended to 200' altitude coming up the river, flat-out, made a 360 around the Statue of Liberty, and slammed her down in Larchment, NY. All of us were in tears- -sure never expected to see that Lady again.”
In April 1946. Bill met Anne Elizabeth Rosser in Fayetteville, N.C., just prior to his discharge from the Army. After his return to Nebraska, he and Anne maintained close correspondence and decided to get married. He thought it would be a good idea for Anne to see what she was gettng into so she made the long bus trip from North Carolina to Dundy County. “Always the joker, I took her first out to the South Place which runs a close second for inhospitality to the Two Buttes, CO area. It is perched on top of the most god-forsaken hill you ever saw. She was a good sport about it, though, and figured things could only improve.” They were married Aug. 12, 1946, in Fayetteville and things certainly did improve.
Bill and Anne moved to Lincoln, Neb., where Bill resumed law school. They had such good times during the law school days and made many friendships that have lasted throughout their lives.
After law school. Bill says, "I worked a little bit at the office; but mostly at the ranch where I maintained my distinguished record of getting hurt and losing money." Bill and Anne bought the house east of Dale and Gwen Bauer, and Lib came to join them on May 10, 1951. Patty was born on Aug. 4, 1953, and Barb on Dec. 16, 1955. Bill, Anne and the girls had a lot of fun over the years. There was a wide circle of friends, each with children of about the same age. and parties abounded. Whether at the lake, at home. at an NU football game, all the kids would be put in one place while the adults gathered in another and each group claimed that they had had the better time. As Marilyn Jones said just recently, "No one has ever had more fun than we did in those days."
Bill's father was stricken with lung cancer in October 1955 and died in February of the following year. Of him, Bill wrote. "He was a genuinely good man and a very hard act to follow, alone, in the law business." But follow him he did. Bill actively practiced law until his death, though he had slowed down some the past several years. Of his law career, Bill wrote. "It is difficult, at this point in life, to give much of a summary of the forty-seven years of law practice in Benkelman, NE. The law business has changed unbelievably since I started. It used to be that there was a camaraderie among the lawyers; we were all seeking justice--for our client; and, if that happened to coincide with the statute or the case law, so much the better. But afterward we were still friendly. Probably my generation of lawyers has caused, or at least heavily contributed, to the present lack of camaraderie where each lawyer is out to get the other, almost irrespective of the client's rights.. The friendly spirit after the case was over has become only a sham. Everyone wants to be the 'top-gun' and cares little how he manages to do it." He continued, "It would also be difficult to give much of a synopsis on my career in the law business without expressing my great respect and gratitude to Mora Flunton Herring and Edith VanHorn Roundtree who, between them, have kept the place in such state of organization as it has been since 1935." Finally, of his career he wrote. "One thing that I have done, and of which I am proud, was to build forty-two low-rent housing projects containing 1,642 dwelling units, as well as three 'farmer's country clubs.' All of these were done with federal money and were virtually free to the towns so benefited; free in the sense that the government was going to squander our money somewhere and, if it was unavoidable anyway, we might as well get some of it back."
Bill was a modest man. He didn't talk (or write) about all the help, guidance and advice he provided to folks in Southwest Nebraska over many years. He didn't talk about how a client would come in with a great idea for a new business venture and leave understanding that maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all. He didn't talk about his understanding of our now litigious society and liability exposure and how his insistence that his clients early appropriate insurance coverage prevented much financial loss and heartache. He didn't talk about the confidence his clients had in his advice because he hadn't steered them wrong in 30 or 40 years. He just did that because it was his job. His client needed help and it was his job to do it--and win.
Bill had many sayings he taught his children to live by. "Never pack more than you can carry:" "Always pull your own weight:" "You can't make everyone happy:" “The more successful you are, the more people will dislike you--don't worry about it." But the one that has remained most vividly with his children through the years is "Always leave a place better than you found it." He lived by that adage and in country, community, friendship and family, Bill Hines truly did leave this earth a better place than he found it.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents, infant twin sisters, an infant son and his daughter, Patricia Anne Hines.
Surviving him are his wife, Anne; daughters Barbara Hines of Lawton, Okla., and Elizabeth "Lib" Carse, her husband, Jim, and sons, Ashley, Nicholas and Steven, all of Atlanta. Ga.; his granddaughter, Amy Beesley. and her husband, Chris, of Lawton: his grandson, Paul Wahrman, of St. Francis, Kan.: and Anne's family: Francis Elder, Eunice and Robert Campbell, and Paul and Jan Rosser, Louise Rosser, Grace Rosser, numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, all of North Carolina. and many Iong-time friends and associates.
Final rites for Bill Hines were held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27, 1997, at the United Methodist Church in Benkelman with the Rev. Michael Davis officiating. The congregational hymn was "Hymn Of Promise." After the reading of the eulogy, Richard Bartholomew sang Frank Sinatra's "My Way" accompanied by Betty Erdman. The postlude was a selection of Bill's favorite Louie Armstrong songs leading with "What a Wonderful World."
Pallbearers were his grandsons, Ashley and Nicholas Carse, and longtime friends and associates Stan Jones, Dave Stogin, Randy Raffle and Tom Roundtree. Honorary bearers were Mason Jones, Vinton Jones, Jesse "Ike" Denny, Lee Gallatin, Ed Burke, Boyd Adkinson, Kent Nehrboss, Harold Brunswick, Hal Tecker, John Ham, Jack Hendrix, Bill Reade and Wilbur Case.
Committal services were by the American Legion Post No. 65. VFW Post No. 4178 and Justice Lodge No. 180 A.F. & A.M. Interment was in the Benkelman Cemetery with arrangements by Jones Funeral Home of Benkelman.
Leon Clifford "Bill" Hines
Leon Clifford "Bill" Hines was born in Benkelman, Neb., on June 10, 1922, to Leon L and Keturah E. (Sipe) Hines. He died peacefully at Dundy County Hospital in Benkelman on Monday, Feb. 24, 1997, at the age of 74 years, 7 months and 14 days.
Bill had a tremendous gift with the written word. His ability to see directly to the core of a situation and then to write about it with incredible wit and wisdom made most every writing of his a pleasure to read, and often reread. In 1991, as a gift to his children, Bill wrote a 75-page "book" titled "My Story." This tribute to Bill will often quote from that book.
Bill was raised in Benkelman by Leon and Kate. Bill wrote, "Leon was a lawyer but also a thwarted show-man: He acquired three little silent-movie theaters at Haigler, Benkelman and Stratton which we had until I started school." He continues, "One of my early recollections is being unmercifully teased by Ward Bond of the later Wagonmaster TV fame. Ward and a fellow named 'Bill' worked at the Benkelman movie theater. In fact, this tale is the source of my name Bill: I really never cared for the name of Leon so I adopted the name of my pure hero, at about age four—and it has stuck. Bill wandered off and didn't turn out to be much and by the time Ward got famous, I was way too damn old to start calling myself 'Ward.' Ah well. win some, lose some."
Bill enjoyed his schooling in Benkelman and graduated as valedictorian in May 1939. After high school Bill went to the University of Nebraska, College of Business Administration. Of his decision to pursue a career in law, Bill wrote. "I was wavering pretty badly between law and medicine, so I signed up for the latter. We had the day when they sorted out the ribbon-clerks by seating us in an overhanging balcony where it was hot, ether-saturated and dark, to watch surgery in progress. Lordy, what a bloody mess. I could see right off that my future laid more in the direction of sorting ribbons. So to law school I went for the year 1942-43."
But World War II intervened. He wrote. "After seventeen weeks of Army Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, I finally got my prized commission and officer's ID card." In September 1944, Bill was assigned to the 106th Infantry division and deployed in the European Theater of Operations. Of his departure from New York, Bill wrote, “Watching the Statue of Liberty sink into the western horizon was about the low point of my life as I surely never expected to see it again.. On Dec. 16, 1944, Bill was engaged to the Battle of the Bulge. “I was, in a sense,” he wrote, “lucky to be the Forward Observer that day. The initial bombardment was concentrated clear to hell and gone behind me. Well, this left me and my driver beautifully camouflaged and of no danger to anybody, totally stranded all by ourselves with nobody to talk to because the G-2, totally terrified, jerked out the switchboard, threw it in his command car, and was never seen again.” As many of the young men of this time. Bill found WWII to be at once terrifying and exhilarating. He tells many war stories, stories of fear and fatigue, of victories and losses, and all are filled with the antics and stunts of young boys convinced their lives are nearly over. Shortly after VE day, Bill became ill and was air-evacuated back to the States. “As we neared home” he wrote, “our pilot, really a hotdogger, even by Dundy County standards, descended to 200' altitude coming up the river, flat-out, made a 360 around the Statue of Liberty, and slammed her down in Larchment, NY. All of us were in tears- -sure never expected to see that Lady again.”
In April 1946. Bill met Anne Elizabeth Rosser in Fayetteville, N.C., just prior to his discharge from the Army. After his return to Nebraska, he and Anne maintained close correspondence and decided to get married. He thought it would be a good idea for Anne to see what she was gettng into so she made the long bus trip from North Carolina to Dundy County. “Always the joker, I took her first out to the South Place which runs a close second for inhospitality to the Two Buttes, CO area. It is perched on top of the most god-forsaken hill you ever saw. She was a good sport about it, though, and figured things could only improve.” They were married Aug. 12, 1946, in Fayetteville and things certainly did improve.
Bill and Anne moved to Lincoln, Neb., where Bill resumed law school. They had such good times during the law school days and made many friendships that have lasted throughout their lives.
After law school. Bill says, "I worked a little bit at the office; but mostly at the ranch where I maintained my distinguished record of getting hurt and losing money." Bill and Anne bought the house east of Dale and Gwen Bauer, and Lib came to join them on May 10, 1951. Patty was born on Aug. 4, 1953, and Barb on Dec. 16, 1955. Bill, Anne and the girls had a lot of fun over the years. There was a wide circle of friends, each with children of about the same age. and parties abounded. Whether at the lake, at home. at an NU football game, all the kids would be put in one place while the adults gathered in another and each group claimed that they had had the better time. As Marilyn Jones said just recently, "No one has ever had more fun than we did in those days."
Bill's father was stricken with lung cancer in October 1955 and died in February of the following year. Of him, Bill wrote. "He was a genuinely good man and a very hard act to follow, alone, in the law business." But follow him he did. Bill actively practiced law until his death, though he had slowed down some the past several years. Of his law career, Bill wrote. "It is difficult, at this point in life, to give much of a summary of the forty-seven years of law practice in Benkelman, NE. The law business has changed unbelievably since I started. It used to be that there was a camaraderie among the lawyers; we were all seeking justice--for our client; and, if that happened to coincide with the statute or the case law, so much the better. But afterward we were still friendly. Probably my generation of lawyers has caused, or at least heavily contributed, to the present lack of camaraderie where each lawyer is out to get the other, almost irrespective of the client's rights.. The friendly spirit after the case was over has become only a sham. Everyone wants to be the 'top-gun' and cares little how he manages to do it." He continued, "It would also be difficult to give much of a synopsis on my career in the law business without expressing my great respect and gratitude to Mora Flunton Herring and Edith VanHorn Roundtree who, between them, have kept the place in such state of organization as it has been since 1935." Finally, of his career he wrote. "One thing that I have done, and of which I am proud, was to build forty-two low-rent housing projects containing 1,642 dwelling units, as well as three 'farmer's country clubs.' All of these were done with federal money and were virtually free to the towns so benefited; free in the sense that the government was going to squander our money somewhere and, if it was unavoidable anyway, we might as well get some of it back."
Bill was a modest man. He didn't talk (or write) about all the help, guidance and advice he provided to folks in Southwest Nebraska over many years. He didn't talk about how a client would come in with a great idea for a new business venture and leave understanding that maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all. He didn't talk about his understanding of our now litigious society and liability exposure and how his insistence that his clients early appropriate insurance coverage prevented much financial loss and heartache. He didn't talk about the confidence his clients had in his advice because he hadn't steered them wrong in 30 or 40 years. He just did that because it was his job. His client needed help and it was his job to do it--and win.
Bill had many sayings he taught his children to live by. "Never pack more than you can carry:" "Always pull your own weight:" "You can't make everyone happy:" “The more successful you are, the more people will dislike you--don't worry about it." But the one that has remained most vividly with his children through the years is "Always leave a place better than you found it." He lived by that adage and in country, community, friendship and family, Bill Hines truly did leave this earth a better place than he found it.
Bill was preceded in death by his parents, infant twin sisters, an infant son and his daughter, Patricia Anne Hines.
Surviving him are his wife, Anne; daughters Barbara Hines of Lawton, Okla., and Elizabeth "Lib" Carse, her husband, Jim, and sons, Ashley, Nicholas and Steven, all of Atlanta. Ga.; his granddaughter, Amy Beesley. and her husband, Chris, of Lawton: his grandson, Paul Wahrman, of St. Francis, Kan.: and Anne's family: Francis Elder, Eunice and Robert Campbell, and Paul and Jan Rosser, Louise Rosser, Grace Rosser, numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, all of North Carolina. and many Iong-time friends and associates.
Final rites for Bill Hines were held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27, 1997, at the United Methodist Church in Benkelman with the Rev. Michael Davis officiating. The congregational hymn was "Hymn Of Promise." After the reading of the eulogy, Richard Bartholomew sang Frank Sinatra's "My Way" accompanied by Betty Erdman. The postlude was a selection of Bill's favorite Louie Armstrong songs leading with "What a Wonderful World."
Pallbearers were his grandsons, Ashley and Nicholas Carse, and longtime friends and associates Stan Jones, Dave Stogin, Randy Raffle and Tom Roundtree. Honorary bearers were Mason Jones, Vinton Jones, Jesse "Ike" Denny, Lee Gallatin, Ed Burke, Boyd Adkinson, Kent Nehrboss, Harold Brunswick, Hal Tecker, John Ham, Jack Hendrix, Bill Reade and Wilbur Case.
Committal services were by the American Legion Post No. 65. VFW Post No. 4178 and Justice Lodge No. 180 A.F. & A.M. Interment was in the Benkelman Cemetery with arrangements by Jones Funeral Home of Benkelman.
Events
| Birth | 10 Jun 1922 | Benkelman, Dundy County, Nebraska | |||
| Census (family)-shared | 9 Apr 1930 | (Leon Llewellyn Hines and Keturah Ellen Sipe) Benkelman, Dundy County, Nebraska |  |  | |
| Census (family)-shared | 15 Apr 1940 | (Leon Llewellyn Hines and Keturah Ellen Sipe) Benkelman, Dundy County, Nebraska | | | |
| Marriage | 12 Aug 1946 | Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina - Annie Elizabeth Rosser | | ||
| Death | 24 Feb 1997 | Benkelman, Dundy County, Nebraska | | ||
| Alt name | Bill Hines | ||||
| Burial | Benkelman Cemetery, Dundy County, Nebraska | |
Families
| Spouse | Annie Elizabeth Rosser (1922 - 2004) |
| Child | infant son Hines (1950 - 1950) |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Patricia Ann Hines (1953 - 1983) |
| Child | Living |
| Father | Leon Llewellyn Hines (1891 - 1956) |
| Mother | Keturah Ellen Sipe (1894 - 1982) |
| Sibling | infant daughter Hines (1933 - 1933) |
| Sibling | Marjorie Ann Hines (1933 - 1933) |
Notes
Census (family)-shared
Leon L Hines Head M 38 NebraskaKeturah E Hines Wife F 36 Nebraska
Leon C Hines Son M 7 Nebraska
Census (family)-shared
Leon L Hines Head M 48 NebraskaKaturah E Hines Wife F 46 Nebraska
Leon C Hines Son M 17 Nebraska
Endnotes
1. "United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XQKN-G4T : accessed 22 Jul 2014), Leon L Hines, Benkelman, Dundy, Nebraska, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 0002, sheet 7A, family 177, NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 1280..
2. "United States Census, 1940," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KM1B-L83 : accessed 22 Jul 2014), Leon L Hines, Benkelman, Benkelman Township, Dundy, Nebraska, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 29-2, sheet 10A, family 199, NARA digital publication of T627, roll 2245..
3. "North Carolina, County Marriages, 1762-1979 ," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VXYM-XTB : 22 December 2016), Leon C Hines and Anne Elizabeth Rosser, 12 Aug 1946; citing Cumberland, North Carolina, United States, p. , Office of Archives and History, Division of Archives and Records. State Archive of North Carolina and various county Register of Deeds; FHL microfilm 540,284..
4. "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V3JQ-SM2 : 20 May 2014), Leon C Hines, 24 Feb 1997; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing)..
5. Find A Grave Memorial# 70825005.