Obituary of Wilena Hindman

Long time Punta Gorda and Charlotte County resident, Wilena A. Hindman, 99, passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 25, 2023 at Tidewell Hospice of Port Charlotte. She was born at her grandmother's house in Newberry, FL to William and Minnie Anslow on April 15, 1924. Wilena had a long and full life. Upon graduating from Gainesville High school with honors in 1941, she became the assistant manager of the Florida Theater in downtown Gainesville. During World War II seeing the latest feature films and watching the news reels to keep up with the happenings of the war brought the community together making the theater a fun and interesting place to work. In 1943 Wilena was introduced to Sergeant Joyce L. Hindman of Punta Gorda by her best friends Betty and Merilee Jones' brother who was stationed with Joyce at Camp Blanding. Joyce and Wilena were married on December 15, 1945 while Joyce was going to the University of Florida. In 1946 with the end of the war, Joyce and Wilena decided to move to Punta Gorda. Wilena went to work at First National Bank and Joyce worked for King Furniture and then ran a Standard Oil gas station. Later Wilena went to work for Ruth and Emmett Perkins in their insurance agency and when the Deloach Agency was offered for sale, Joyce bought it using Wilena's insurance license until he finished school for his license. Wilena worked at Hindman Insurance Agency along side Joyce until the arrival of their two children, Kathy and Jeff. Wilena was a devoted mother and an active volunteer during her child rearing years serving as an officer in the Punta Gorda Junior Women's Club. She also served on the board of the Gulf Coast Girl Scout Council and was a Brownie leader for several years. After a 20 year hiatus, Wilena re-entered the workforce to become a realtor for Orr Realty in 1969 for the next fifteen years. While Joyce was busy with the agency and his civic involvement with Rotary, Chamber of Commerce, as a Baptist deacon and with two stints on the Punta Gorda City Council, Wilena kept up her church involvement as a Sunday School teacher for 4 and 5 year olds. She was a member of the choir at First Baptist Church for over 50 years and served on the board of the Friends of the Library and as a regular library volunteer. There are two important things to know about Wilena: For special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, retirements or just ordinary events in life, she wrote poems to commemorate those events for church friends, personal friends, or once in awhile, for a friend of a friend or relative she might not even know, and she could write them in seconds. She called them "doggerel." Here is one: To be able to cook is quite a blessin' But don't think my kitchen is open for messin'. I'm quite particular the way that it looks And I don't allow too many cooks. My way of doing things just pleases me, So you're excused to go and watch TV. The other thing she was noted for was the baking of brownies. It started with her baking brownies for her kids as a reward for being good. It continued during her Girl Scout years. But it was at the First Baptist Church that her Brownies became legendary. She became known as the Brownie Lady from the baked goods auctions at church. Some of her brownies received bids of $100. Wilena and Joyce spent many weekends at their vacation house at Englewood Beach. Wilena and her sister-in-law, Tosie, became avid shell collectors scavenging the beach before dawn. There were many days of fun with Kathy and Jeff and their friends. Lots of fun was had between 50 Friendship Lane and Jeff's in-law's, Pat and Brooks Hoyt at Slipshod Manor on the beach to the north. From elaborate dinner parties, eventually there were spectacular Easter Egg Hunts at Slipshod Manor with grandchildren. Wilena also enjoyed many trips to North Carolina with her best friend, Lonnie Persons, visiting sister-in-law, Tosie Hindman and the Croslands. Wilena was a dedicated Christian and a Florida Gator who bled Orange and Blue. Wilena was predeceased by her parents, William and Minnie Anslow; her brother Bob (Robert), as well as her husband, Joyce L. Hindman in February 1997. She is survived by her daughter, Kathy Hindman-Kartz and her son-in-law, Jack Kartz of Punta Gorda and son, Wm. Jeffrey Hindman and daughter-in-law, Kathy Hindman of Tampa; three grandchildren: Matthew Hindman, Leslie Mazzoni and Kelly Kartz; five great-grandchildren: Bryson, Joshua, Jazmyn, Nathaniel and Jocelyn. She is also survived by her niece, Kim Anslow Hayes and nephews, Bunk (Arthur Ray) Hindman and Freddie Frizzell Hindman. The family is forever grateful for her physician Dr. Nancy Hundt and all of her staff as well as caregivers Veronica Wint and Patti Quednau Laine for their gentle care of our mother. The family also wants to acknowledge the years of friendship and generosity of her neighbors Robert and Dawn Goode. We would also like to thank the wonderful staff at Tidewell Hospice of Port Charlotte. A celebration of life will be held on Friday, July 21 at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Punta Gorda with visitation at the church at 10:30 a.m. A reception following the service will be held in the Fellowship Hall. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Wilena's name to Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte County, a cause for which she deeply cared.