Community leader Charles Hinton recalled
04/21/03
By J. JEREMY DEAN
Daily Commercial Staff Writer
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WEBSTER
Webster community leader and former president of the Webster Dixie Baseball League
died Friday after suffering a heart attack and several strokes.
Charles “Chuck” Hinton, 59, of Webster went into a coma before
dying at Leesburg Regional Medical Center where he was being treated.
Hinton will be remembered for several accomplishments, including the yearly
haunted house at the Sam S. Harris Recreational Complex, the
Twilight Holiday Parade during the Christmas season, and his
extensive work in youth sports leagues.
The idea to build a haunted house each Halloween was born seven years
ago out of his love for children, according to his daughter Jacque Walker.
“He just did the haunted house for the kids,” she said. “He never even
wanted to charge for it.”
Former Webster mayor Michael Harris, who worked with Hinton on the house
and parade, called him “a tireless dynamo.” “He was never down and always
looking for new things to put in the haunted house and the parade.”
Walker agreed saying: “He was in a wheelchair the last few years, but anywhere
that wheelchair would go, he would go.” She said Webster had given him
a plaque just last year to honor him for his involvement in the city.
While he loved these community projects, Hinton is best known for his
devotion to youth sports. In addition to being president of the Dixie
baseball league for six years, he also coached for many years, beginning
in 1978.
One fellow coach remember him as one who always put the kids in the
community first, and helped them participate in the league, even when
their families couldn’t afford it.
“He wanted to win, but he didn’t put that ahead of the kids,” said
coach Kenneth Prevatt. “I know he’s going to be missed.”