Marjorie W. Hingst

Marjorie Wilhelmina Sandfort Hingst, born February 24, 1932, to Waldo and Irma (Zumbehl) Sandfort of St Charles, Missouri, woke in the presence of Christ on Sunday, March 26, 2023. Marjorie was preceded in death by her husband of over 67 years, Duane E Hingst of Bridgman, Michigan. 

Marjorie will be greatly missed as a devoted Christian mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. Her ready smile, quick laugh, and sunny disposition endeared her to all, and she was always ready to join in an adventure with her family, especially if her grandchildren were along for the ride. She was truly the hands of Christ to all of us!

Marjorie is survived by her sister, Joanne Bader, and her brother and his wife, Maurice (Moe) & Patti (Petzold) Sandfort; her children and their spouses Debbie & Terry Weinhold of St Charles Missouri, Mark & Susan (Marshall) Hingst of St Charles Missouri, and Dawn & Bob Anderson, of Ballwin, Missouri; dear grandchildren Ben and Heather (Mielenz) Hingst, Brian and Anna (Droste) Hingst, Angela (Weinhold) and Bill Ivie, Sarah Weinhold, Rachel Weinhold, Rick and Beverly (Gross) Anderson, Michelle (Anderson) and Kevin Wade; beloved great grandchildren Noah, Lilah, Bailey, Harrison, Hazel, Peter, Abigail, and Annabelle; numerous nieces and nephews.

Marjorie was baptized at Immanuel Lutheran Church on March 6, 1932 and confirmed her Christian faith on April 14, 1946. The oldest of three children to Waldo and Irma, Marjorie relished the time she spent with her siblings, Joanne and Moe, along with her extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins, particularly her cousin Joyce Hollrah. She shared stories of visiting her grandparents’ farm and feeding the chickens by spreading their feed in the shape of letters. She talked of saving pins as a child for the war effort, of painting sand with chalk to ‘sell’ to the neighbors, and of the day her long-awaited bicycle was finally ready at the store and her dad insisted she ride it home from Main Street to their home on Washington Street…all uphill. Her favorite childhood memories were of visiting the homes of her aunts and uncles during Christmas and sitting in fear while they lit the candles on their Christmas trees for just a few minutes hoping that the tree didn’t catch fire. In her most recent years, she felt exceptionally blessed to be able to see Joanne, Moe, Patti, and Joyce every day as they all called the Breeze Park-Lutheran Senior Services Community their home. 

She attended Immanuel Lutheran Elementary School, graduated from St Charles High School in 1950 and continued her education at Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, Illinois with her childhood friend, Mary (Walter) Storm. As part of those studies she completed a supply teaching assignment in Lake Zurich, Illinois. 

It was while at Concordia she met her future husband and constant companion, Duane. She quickly built lifelong friendships with his family, including his sister Betty (Hingst) Dunning and his cousin Carole (Lofgren) Ehert. On a 104-degree day, June 20, 1953, Marj and Duane were married at Immanuel Lutheran Church followed by a lovely but sweltering reception in her parents’ backyard on Washington Street. They moved to the farming community of Nokomis, Illinois where Duane had accepted a call to teach grades 1-8 in a one-room schoolhouse at St Paul’s Lutheran Church and School. They welcomed daughter Deborah in September of 1954, and son Mark in August of 1956. 

Marj and Duane moved to St. Louis in 1958, as Duane accepted a call to teach at Concord Lutheran School in suburban Pagedale, Missouri. Marjorie joined him at Concord and taught various grades, taking a short break when daughter Dawn was born in February of 1965. Marj enjoyed a varied career after she moved on from teaching, first in the children’s department at the Famous-Barr Department Store in Clayton and later in the men’s department at the store in West County Mall. She eventually found herself serving the Lord in the national office of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League where she shared her gift of gab with callers from all over the country. Marjorie retired in 1993 to pursue her two favorite hobbies: travel and grandchildren. She and Duane were inseparable and took great pleasure in photo-journaling their travels to all 50 states, Europe, and Israel. If she wasn’t traveling she could likely be found rooting for or just hanging out with her seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. 

While teaching at Concord Marjorie began her hands-on volunteer ministry as an active member of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church singing in the choir, leading youth and couples’ groups, the Mary-Martha Guild, Vacation Bible School, Sunday School, and volunteer for the Mother to Mother program in the urban neighborhoods of St Louis City. She built lifelong friendships with many before transferring to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Des Peres in 1979 and for almost 40 years Marj could be found every Sunday at 8:00 am worshipping with Dawn and Bob and their family. Again, always eager to serve, Marj was active in the LWML Afternoon Guild, Senior’s Ministry, OASIS Tutors, led Living Way Bible Study small groups,  worked on the weekly bulletin prep team, contributed many hours helping at the Annual Youth Rummage Sale and she treasured the time she spent with dear friends, young and old, at St. Paul’s. A few years after their move to Breeze Park, Marj & Duane transferred to Zion Lutheran Church in Harvester and enjoyed the opportunity to worship weekly with Mark and Susan, Debbie and Terry, and their families. No matter where she attended, Marj made worship a priority and modeled that for all of us.

During the summer Marj especially enjoyed sharing all of the Muny productions with her family as a season subscriber for almost 5 decades and we are fortunate to still have those seats; come see us on Thursday nights in the first row of Terrace B! She also enjoyed sewing, puzzles of all kinds, and reading romance novels. We all enjoyed her company and appreciated her sense of humor; as her chaplain at Breeze Park noted on Sunday, we enjoyed ‘Marj just being Marj.’ 

Visitation will be held at Zion Lutheran Church of Harvester on Tuesday, April 4 from 4:00-8:00 pm with her funeral service Wednesday, April 5 beginning at 11:00 am also at Zion. Immediately following the service there will be a graveside committal at Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery in St. Charles. Family and friends are welcome to join us back at Zion for a light luncheon and to share memories.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that gifts in her memory be sent to the "Duane and Marjorie Hingst Fund for Education" held at the Lutheran Elementary School Association (LESA), 11123 South Towne Square, Suite F, St. Louis, MO 63123.  Make checks payable to LESA, writing "Hingst" in the memo field. Or gifts may be made online at LesaSTL.org/donate.