As news of photojournalist Wayne Hinshaw’s death spread on Sunday, hundreds of folks shared their feelings via social media, texts, emails and phone calls. 

“It’s amazing the lives he touched,” his wife Sammie said Monday morning, her voice breaking. The two were married 55 years. 

The couple have two children, Heather Peoples of Gastonia, and Chad Hinshaw of Denver, Colorado. Heather and husband John have two children, Kathryn, 14, and Evan, 12. Chad and wife Emmy have a daughter, Audrey, 13. 

At the Post, he was called a perfectionist, she said. “He wanted everything done right, and done to the best of your ability. That included reporters and the other photographers.”

Wayne’s parents, the late Kathern and Jake Hinshaw, grew up during in the Depression. Sammie suspected that may have had something to do with her husband’s unshakeable work ethic. 

Wayne’s passions were photography and sports, she said. His hobby was his career, their daughter added.

In late 2022, Wayne was inducted into the Salisbury-Rowan Sports Hall of Fame.

“Wayne loved going with reporters when they were interviewing people. He was very interested in what people were doing,” Sammie said. It wasn’t unusual for Wayne to pipe up with a thoughtful question of his own — which was extremely helpful for young reporters. 

Wayne hired photographer Jon Lakey in 1998. The other candidate left to walk his dog, Jon said. “Wayne didn’t like that.”

The next year, Wayne hired photographer Joey Benton. 

“When he interviewed me for the job, it took four hours,” Benton said Sunday afternoon. “That should have warned me off. But I took the job anyway. We became close friends and had lunch together more often than not. He put so much trust in me to allow a wet-behind-the-ears rookie to reinvent his department. He was a mentor and teacher and his loss is personal.”

Wayne was a mentor to many reporters and photographers. 

“Wayne Hinshaw gave me some great words of advice once that I have always remembered,” Jerri Menges said Sunday evening. She worked at the Post from 1991 to 1998. 

“We were on the way to a story assignment, and I was sharing how hard it was for me to live away from my family and friends in the Lumbee Native American tribe,” Menges said. “I told him how I sometimes wanted to move back. 

“Wayne said something that went like this: ‘Don’t move back. That could discourage other young people in your community who would like to move away and make a better living for themselves. If they see that you can’t make it, they may be afraid to try. Learn to make it away from them, and then move back if you would like. Then others will see it can be done.’”

Tracy Presson covered education for the Post from 1989 to 1997.

“I’ll never forget the busy Friday morning when Wayne watched helplessly as I fell down a flight of stairs and sprained my ankle,” she said Sunday evening. “My skirt flew up in the process, but Wayne didn’t laugh at me. We went on to our assignment and later had a good laugh together.

“I always enjoyed working with Wayne. He believed that reporters and photographers should work as a team. The story comes out better and everyone gets to know each other better.

“Wayne was a great Christian friend and family man who will definitely be missed.”

Wayne took special pride in the Garden Game, Benton said. For those who don’t remember, gardeners brought in a 9-pound turnip, or a tomato that looked like Richard Nixon. Let’s just say it wasn’t a favorite of reporters when we saw a produce-bearing resident come through the newsroom doors. 

“Wayne saw it as a chance for the average person to be noticed,” Benton said. “He always wanted to honor them by doing his best and showing real interest in them. He respected them all.”

Sammie pointed out that her husband’s pictures told the story. And what stories they were. 

When Tom Childress worked for Catawba College, he and Wayne had many a sideline conversation on the football field.

“We were talking, but he was watching the game,” Childress said. “He never got diverted.”

Sunday evening, Childress remarked that “(Wayne) took so many pictures of so many diverse people from Rowan County.”

That included Childress in his role as head basketball coach at Pfeiffer University, and three of his 12 grandchildren — a golfer and two basketball players.

So three generations of Childress family members. 

“You just thought of Wayne as your friend, even though he was there to do his job,” Childress said. “There will be a void. You take it for granted that someone like Wayne would be there.”

Dr. Rebekah Frick Julian surely feels the same, as a member of a third-generation running family. Wayne photographed her during her running career as well as her children’s own careers during the last few years.

“I loved him so much,” she said Sunday evening. “When I came back to Rowan County to work as a veterinarian, I started going to cross country meets before my kids were born and he was there. I walked up to him and he knew who I was. It was a wonderful reunion. I have a picture with him, my son Eli, and me at the 2022 county meet. He is a true Rowan County legend.”

One mother remembers Hinshaw for his consistent presence at her children’s games.

“He did a fabulous job of catching my children in action,” Laurie Jacobs said Sunday. She and her former husband, Chris Corriher, have two children. Lynsey played volleyball, Cameron played soccer, and both played basketball. “You could see the concentration on their faces. Wayne also did a great job of including pictures from the bench with a lot of the kids who didn’t get playing time. He and Mike London were a great team covering sports!”

There was no story Wayne couldn’t photograph. 

“I knew Wayne for so many years,” said Kaye Brown Hirst, former Rowan Museum director. “I was involved in so many community events and non-profits and he was always there to shoot.  

“He didn’t just shoot, he shot well, put his heart into it and always wanted to know about it. He loved the history of it. I often saw him in public and we still talked history — he always had questions for me. He loved Rowan and loved sharing Rowan through his camera lens. And he did it so well.”

Kent Bernhardt described Wayne as a “part of the fabric of this community,” who captured so much of its day-to-day history.

“I would watch him at work when we were covering the same events, and always thought he handled his camera like a brilliant musician handles his instrument,” Bernhardt said. “He was such an artist, and yet so humble. I hope someone is planning an exhibit of his work.”

Hinshaw captured Bill Deal’s final “wiener roast” in September 2013 before the latter’s death three months later. Deal was diagnosed with lung cancer that previous summer, and his two girls decided the last cookout in China Grove would be the most epic, with nearly 150 people attending. 

“Wayne made some memorable pictures for us,” Deal’s wife Sharon said Monday morning. 

Hinshaw also created memories for Teresa Stoner, the former longtime director of St. John’s Kindergarten. 

“He came to my house when I was little to take pictures of me with Santa,” she said Sunday. “They are some of my most precious keepsakes from my childhood.”

Sammie saw Wayne in three roles the rest of us didn’t — husband, father, grandfather. 

“He was very kind and loving,” she said. “I didn’t realize how much he loved me until the last year or so. He got to where he depended on me. He said he loved me so much, and he didn’t know what he’d do without me.”