Bill Hinkley, 60, died Monday, September 12, 2005 at his home in Tallahassee.

A memorial service was held at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, September 16th at the Miccosukee Land Co-op Community Center. Photos from the memorial service are posted at http://www.billhinkley.com/celebration.htm. The family asks that memorial contributions may be made to the University of Florida Foundation c/o Hinkley Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management, 2207 NW 13 Street, Suite D, Gainesville, FL 32609. A scholarship fund has been established in Bill's name, at his request.

Bill grew up in Parkridge, Illinois, and graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in history. He continued his studies at the University of Illinois and moved to Tallahassee to attend Florida State University, where he earned his B.S. in biology. Bill devoted nearly 30 years of his life to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), serving most recently as Chief of the Bureau of Solid and Hazardous Waste. He was passionate about his work and dedicated to the belief that reason and good science can solve most environmental problems.

Bill was well known as a champion of environmental protection. He was the architect of Florida’s Recycling and Solid Waste Management Plan, the special projects manager for the acid rain initiative, and the research team leader of the initiative which ultimately led to the elimination of the use of arsenic in pressure-treated wood destined for residential use. He drafted the legislation to create the Florida Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management. (The Center was recently renamed the William W. "Bill" Hinkley Center for Solid and Hazardous Waste Management.) He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Solid Waste Association of America and as Employee of the Year by FDEP.

Bill’s work led to break throughs that will protect Florida’s environment for many years into the future.

Survivors include his wife, Mary Hinkley of Tallahassee; a son, Asa Hinkley of Jacksonville; two daughters, Rachael Hinkley of Tampa and Georgia Hinkley of Tallahassee; his mother Dorothy Hinkley of Arlington Heights, IL; a sister, Kathy Monestero, of Streamwood, IL; and his brother, Clark Hinkley of Duxbury, MA.