Duncan P. “Dunc” Hinckley, 81, of Chester, VA, formerly of Piffard, NY died Sunday, July 29, 2012 at the Hospice Center of Charleston in Mount Pleasant, SC following a brief illness.
Dunc was born in Batavia, NY on December 25, 1930 and was the son of Percy & Sarah (Gardner) Hinckley.
He grew up in Alexander, NY and was a graduate of Alexander Central School (class of 1948). In 1953 he graduated from SUNY Brockport where he received his BS Degree in Education. He later received his Masters Degree in Education from SUNY Buffalo. Duncan served as a Health and Physical Education teacher as well as a swim coach at several schools in the Buffalo area, including Clarence, Lancaster, and Amherst. He was a veteran of the US Army, serving his country for two years during the Korean War.
In 1967 he joined the staff at SUNY Geneseo as Associate Professor in the Physical Education Department. He also served as coach for both golf and swimming. Throughout Dunc’s 26 years as Swim Coach, his teams won many titles & championships. He hosted the NCAA Division 3 Nationals at SUNY Geneseo in 1979. Dunc was also honored as “Coach of the Year” on several occasions and was elected to the Sports Hall of Fame at both SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Brockport. He retired in 1993.
Dunc initiated the Genesee Valley Swim Club, and also taught golf as part of the Elderhostel summer program at the college.
Dunc was a member of the NCAA Swimming College Coaches Association and remained an avid swimmer throughout his lifetime. He enjoyed playing tournament golf and won several awards. He also enjoyed winter vacations with his family at Myrtle Beach and motor-homing throughout New York and Canada during the summer. Dunc was a “die-hard” motorcyclist.
He was married in the First Presbyterian Church of Hornell on March 25, 1978 to the former Linda Piccirillo who survives. They resided in Piffard, NY prior to their moving to Virginia after his retirement.
Other survivors include two daughters, Lisa Reyes of Chicago, IL, Janette (Tim) Scott of Naples, FL; three sons, Scott (Mary) Hinckley of Pleasant Hill, CA, Alan (Isla) Hinckley of Raleigh, NC and Shawn Harris of Mt. Pleasant, SC; one sister, Joan (Harry) Moore of Fallbrook,CA; his former wife, Barbara of Naples, FL; 14 grandchildren; 3 great-grandsons; several nieces & nephews. Also surviving are his father and mother-in-law, Joseph and Pauline Piccirillo of North Charleston, SC, and his sister-in-law, Karen Piccirillo Kelly of Chester, VA.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Christina Perry and also his sister, Sybil Matteson.
At Dunc’s request there will be no prior calling hours. Friends are invited to attend a Memorial service at SUNY Geneseo in the early fall, date to be determined. Additionally, there will be a service at the home of Linda Hinckley in Chester, VA for close friends and family. That date soon to be determined.
The family of Coach Hinckley request that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be sent to the Geneseo Roundtable, SUNY Geneseo, Geneseo NY, 14454. Donations should be sent in the name of Duncan Hinckley.
Funeral arrangements are in care of the Dagon Funeral Home, 38 Church St., Hornell, NY 14843.
love you linda….you know what dunc meant me…
your sister and his sista…
love karen….we had a beautiful time with family saying good=bye to dunc. see you soon.
love, karen joanne piccirillo
I know how tough this is and you know what Dunc meant to me. We had a great time celebrating his life with family this past weekend.
love you,
see you soon
from dunc’s sister to your sister ha ha
Our house was way too quiet this morning after the last few days with “family” bringing back so many stories of our years with Dunc. Take care as you drive back to VA and we will see you next week.
Pooh Bear is lying on the rug in front of Dunc’s “favorite chair”.
Love and Hugs, Mom and Dad
What a wonderfully written obituary for a great man. Linda, you and the whole family are in my prayers. Sending you my love.
Grandpa Coach
You will be greatly missed and are loved by more people than you will ever know. I take peace in knowing that you are now with my mom (Chris) and dad (Glenn) in heaven. I am sure that the angels are getting the best swimming instruction! The chain of our family may be broken but some day God will join it again in a way only he knows how and when. I have faith that the day will be the most wonderful of them all!
~Until we meet again~
XOXO {tug tug tug}
Amber Brown (Perry)
Here is to you coach
Dear lord take Dunc in your arms and guide him home to you. His place is in heaven seated next to you..he produced great athletes and awesome people and had a profound impact on many peoples lives. He is now in his final resting place and will be missed, however memories of him will be with me forever in my heart. Thank you Coach!!!
Love to all his family he left behind, he will be deeply missed..
My love and thoughts are with you, Shawn and the rest of your family, Linda. Coach was an amazing presence in my life and he made a tremendous impact on me as a young man. He taught me how to discipline myself, while respecting the sport and enjoying it, as well. I’m very thankful to both of you. I know there are many who feel the same way. The Blue Wave will always be a part of me, and Coach will always be in my heart.
I will talk with you soon.
Love and prayers,
Mark Trawitz
Linda,
You, Dunc, and Karen have been wonderful neighbors.
Donna and I hold you and Karen and your family in our
prayers. Dunc was one of the ” good guys” and I will miss him.
I regret that I could never get him on my Harley. He preferred
his Honda. Maybe next time we meet, he can teach me to swim
and I can show him how to ride a big bike.
May God richly bless you and your,
Rocky & Donna Angone
PS
Madelyn and Gabriel send their love
There are no words… Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Love,
Janice
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Love, Steve & Connie
Coach was an outstanding man. What he gave during his lifetime is now being passed on to future generations.
Linda, you are in our thoughts and prayers.
Love Dick and Debbie Daggett
There was no better person in the world than Coach. He would give you the shirt off his back – even though it was that old ripped Geneseo Blue Wave shirt he always wore! He was a father for so many people and cared for each and every one of us. To Linda – you were there every step of the way and were every bit as much of an influence on our lives as Dunc. Thank you. Dunc will be missed, but he will not be forgotten.
As a kid I spent large parts of every summer with Aunt Linda and Dunc aka “Coach”. He taught me how to play golf in their HUGE yard. He taught me how to swim in their pool. He taught me how to work a riding mower so I could help mow that HUGE yard! We spent countless hours together bouncing from camp ground to camp ground in their RV.
I knew then, and I know now, that I was a lucky kid to have an Aunt and Uncle who had so much to share with me, my cousin Shawn, and my sisters. Coach has left us, but I will NEVER lose the memories of the time I had with him, and I will be eternally grateful for everything he did for me.
Linda, I know you have all of these memories, times 1,000! Together, you and “Coach” positively impacted the lives of so many people. Whether it was coaching, teaching, parenting, or being an Aunt & Uncle, you guys worked together so well to make peoples lives better. I hope all of these memories help you find comfort in this impossible time, and remind you of what a great man “Coach” was.
Love,
Scott Kelly
Coach, You made us all better swimmers, better people, and helped us find our way. We know you have found your way now to ultimate peace and joy. You’ve made a difference for many many people.
Go Blue Wave,
Jim and Jan Hadley
And So sorry for your loss, Linda. Coach was such an important and positive influence on randy during all those diving meets and in so many other ways that we are so grateful for. He was such a special man and we are very thankful to have been a friend of his. Rest in peace coach…….Thank you!!
Linda,
I will miss Coach very much. I know he and my dad are busy
playing golf and telling stories. I have so many great memories.
You and your family are in our thoughts and prayers.
Love,
The Blanchards
More years ago than I plan on counting, Coach entered my world and had a lasting positive effect on my entire life. He gave me opportunities and tried to depart his wisdom on me. The opportunities I will be forever grateful for, the wisdom I am still working on. Linda and family, you already know the profound impression coach made on hundreds of lifes, be comforted in that he lives with all of us moving forward.
On behalf of the entire Blue Wave Family; We will miss you Dunc. You have done so much for so many in the Blue Wave swimming family and the swimming community in WNY. You will never be forgotten! Linda, Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Duncan Hinckley:
A coach, teacher, father figure, mentor, friend, golfing partner and the foundation on which the legend of Blue Wave swimming was built. Coach, was so much more to his swimmers than just a coach. He gave so much to his swimmers which has had a lasting impression on all of us in our professional lives, as parents and coaches ourselves. And we all know the role Linda played all those years in our lives as well. Linda and Family, my deepest sympathies for the loss of this great man from your lives. He will be missed by all. God Bless you Coach!!
Tim Menges
Simply, The Best.
Linda,
My love and sympathy go out to you and your family. I’ll be forever grateful for all the guidance, support and encouragement you and Coach gave me during my years on the Blue Wave, from a rocky freshman year, to meningitis and my recovery, to you and Coach giving us rides to winter training sessions on some absurdly cold mornings.
Coach was a great one and we’ll all miss him. In our hearts he lives on.
Love,
Stacey (Ryczak) Hunter
Linda, and his family, you have my deepest sympathy, and are in my thoughts and prayers. I am deeply saddened by Coach’s passing, as we kept in close touch over the years since I graduated many decades ago… after playing on his golf team from 1971-1975. Him staying at my home in Florida a few years back, and me being able to ‘pay him back’ a little (private joke between us since 1971) was priceless…it was and will always be a few days cherished with a phenomenal man and mentor. He was the first adult in my life who treated me as an adult. He believed in me more then I did, enabling me to better myself more in golf, and life, more then I thought I ever could. He was a father figure to me at Geneseo…but whenever we talked and I would thank him for all he meant to me, and did for me, he would downplay it in typical Dunc fashion…humble all the way !!! Heaven has a great golfer there now….hit ’em straight Coach til we meet again. RIP
During a period of our lives when we are discovering who we are and who we want to be, Dunc was able to provide a tremendously positive influence for so many people. While I have many fond memories of my time with the Blue Wave and the swimming, in the last few years I have found myslef reflecting more on the life-lessons that Dunc taught.
Dunc was a very good man and I am a better person for having known him.
I hope that he fully understood the profound impact he had on so many young lives.
Rest in peace Dunc.
Coach- You played such a big part in my teen and young adult years. I will always be grateful for your love and investment in me. Joan Alley Smith
Dunc:
When a rock hits a pool of water and slowly settles, it may not notice the ripples created in its wake. We are those ripples. The number of former swimmers that have gone on to coach, and our swimmers who have also gone on, teaching those same techniques and values that you stressed day in and day out throughout your career. And the life lessons taught far out- number the swimming lessons.
I consider myself blessed to have had the opportunity to learn from and later coach against the master.
A lifetime toiling on this earth, putting in the work and all the sudden “BINGO” – “It all comes out in the wash”
WELL DONE COACH!
My deepest sympathy to Linda, Joe, Pauline and our whole Blue Wave Family.
Love,
Mike Watches ’80
Dunc Hinckley –
What a wonderful man of principal, compassion and discipline. He took me into his home and provided direction at a time in my life when it was deperately needed. He sacraficed sleep and time with his family so I could swim over Christmas break.
In the off season we enjoyed golf with fellow golf team mates along with a few beers.
Our prayers are with you Linda and his entire family.
Al Servati
Thank You Duncan for your dedication and passion to the Blue Wave!!
I am proud I got to swim for you!
Hugs to you Linda…
Praying for you and your family.
LOVE,
OZ
Linda and Dunc’s family:
There are few men in my life that had such a dramatic impact on my life as “coach”. He taught me so much that I can’t begin to detail the lessons here. The things he taught me transcended swimming and athletics and the lessons served me well throughout my life. If I leave a legacy even a fraction as much as Duncs, I will be satisfied that my life had meaning. Anyone who ever knew coach will never forget him. Chris and I send our love to all of coaches friends and family, we share your loss but rejoice in the life that Duncan lived. God bless,
I am still in shock about this sad news. Linda, know that Bob and I are thinking of you, and reliving all the fun things that Coach said and did to motivate us. Jogging around the pool deck while we were slogging through morning practices, warning against the three B’s, talking the bouncer into letting us into the IB after we first won states, and so much more. Rest in peace, Coach.
Coach,
I look at the picture of you and me and my daughter we have in our piano room every day. Your picture inspires me to do the best I can each day! I’ll always remember our trips to Florida and training at the Hall of Fame pool and your lessons of stoke mechanics and hard competitive practices. Your enthusiasm for the sport of swimming touched so many lives! Oh behalf of the whole Blue Wave family, thank you!
Linda and family,
Leslie and I want to remember along with so many others the great coach, mentor and friend Duncan was to us. He was such a bull dog (we had a poster), and at the same time such a soft hearted man. He always wanted the best for us and out of us. Those four years in the 70’s we spent in Geneseo formed so much of who we are today. I found strength and dedication by watching Dunc over those years. We pray God will draw close to you as you remember the good times, and the hard times.
God bless you.
Scott
I was sooo sad to hear. Dunc was a great coach and a better person. We are all richer to have know a him and call him a friend. Linda my prayers go out to you and the rest if his family. .
Linda,
I have many fond memories of you and Dunc coaching the Blue Wave. Early on in my teaching career at Geneseo, I would go the pool at lunch time for the open swim. Dunc could not help but coach. He occasionally came out on deck and gently offered tips on how I could improve my breaststroke. He knew swimming. The Blue Wave can trace its long string of successes in the SUNYAC to him. You have my sympathy.
Ken
Dear Linda & extended Hinckley Family,
I was a city girl brought up in Buffalo and going to The Hinckley Farm was a real treat.
Duncan, Joan & Sybil were my cousins & I remember when we were kids, having so much fun playing in the barn.
I was 6 years younger than Dunc but thought he was one of the most handsome boys I’d ever laid my eyes on . (blond, blue eyes, the whitest teeth & a smile that didn’t quit)
My Deepest Sympathy & Prayers.
Carol Walker
Your Blue Wave family will miss you Coach. Your heart has touched us all and inspired us to become better than we ever thought possible…well beyond the water, trophies and cheers. Linda, Amy and I send you our deepest sympathy and love. ~Scott
Cousin, I will surely miss you. You put me on my first horse ride. It was short as the horse took me right back to the barn. We’ve always had some wonderful times together. Lots of good memories
What a great guy Coach was. We had so much fun in the pool in 1969 and 1970. He will be missed by us all now, but, we’ll all be reunited on the “other side.” Life bring us fine people to help mold us and I count Dunc as a “Fine Person.” May the Lord of us all, who now holds Dunc in the palm of His hand, give you the knowledge that His peace abides with us all, for ever. May we all do the good deeds that Duncan took the time to teach. Peace. ~Eric
Thanks for all the lessons in life that you gave to so many of us, Coach. I was coaching at a boys’ state championship meet a couple years ago and counted four or five other Blue Wave alums who are now coaches using the concepts that you gave us. For all the hours you put in at the Geneseo pool, and for starting a tradition of success and hard work that continues to this day, they ought to rename it Hinckley Pool.
Dunc was a coaching inspiration to me. He welcomed me to the staff in ’92 and we talked almost every day about sports and coaching. I learned a great deal about training from him. He also gave me some great golf tips which I still can’t follow today. Miss you pardner!!
Coach,
Thank you for shaping us into the responsible adults we have become. I was visiting Heather Booth this week in Roshester and remembered you fondly. Go Polar Bears!
Patricia Liegey
Linda,
I am so sorry for your loss. Coach played a very important role in my life and I’ll always be grateful for the confidence and support have gave me.
God bless you, all.
Michael Hobert
Blue Wave 1981-83
Coach-
I’m sure that you are back in the swim at that old Schrader Pool. I miss you both.
Coach,
For a girl from Minnesota, you and Linda provided the family I needed during my 4 years at Geneseo. Thanks you for being that tough guy with a huge heart. I learned so much from you about not only swimming, but about life. There is always a smile on my face when I think of you and the good times.
Love and miss you,
Jen(Bruns)Torres
Linda:
So often when I am swimming laps I think of Dunc and the gift he gave me. I was not even really a swimmer when I asked to be on the team. He worked patiently with me and allowed me to swim for the Blue Wave! He turned me into a swimmer and gave me a gift that I still love today. You and he were such important people in my life at Geneseo. It was an honor for me to swim at Geneseo. You were the best mentos and coaches! I am sorry I could not tell Dunc myself. He was a great man. I will never forget him. I am so sorry for your loss.
Renee Mauche Faatz – class of ’83
Linda,
Our prayers are with you and your family. All of the Blanchards loved “Coach”. I still tell many stories about GVAC Swim Club! Coach had a gift with teaching swimming and golf. Many swimmers built their future lives around strokes learned in the pool with Dunc. God bless you and your family, we will be thinking of you.
Love, G. Blanchard and Family.
What a loss this is to his dear wife Linda, the Geneseo community, and the legions of Geneseo swimmers who were so lucky to have him (and Linda) as a coach. I saw first hand how wonderful a coach and father figure he was to his swimmers, how dedicated he was and how he loved his swimmers and they loved him. I worked with Dunc and Linda for 15 years and each year I came to respect you more and more because of the special relationship between you and your swimmers. Rest in peace, dear Dunc. I will miss you always.