Holm Hinrichs was born on January 19, 1923 in Hildesheim, Germany. His mother, Inge Iwerson, was a graduate of the Bauhaus School of Design in Dessau, and his father, Hans Georg Hinrichs, was a Lieutenant in the Navy at Wilhelmshaven. In 1931, his father came to America to join an uncle in the Hinrichs Foundry & Brooklyn Vault Light Company and live in Port Washington, NY, where Holm attended high school. His studies at Cornell were interrupted when he served three years with the 3rd Combat Engineers in WWII in New Guinea, the Philippines, and Japan. Holm completed degrees in chemistry and mathematical physics at Siena College in Albany, NY.

In the spring of 1951, Holm came to Huntsville, AL to start what would become a distinguished 44-year career with Redstone Arsenal. Primarily involved in testing and evaluation of missile systems and propulsion, he interfaced with Thiokol and Roam & Haas, and he served as the Project Manager in charge of the Nike Hercules program, the Army liaison to the Jet Propulsion Lab in California, and the Director of the Propulsion Lab. During his many years of service in support of Army Missile Systems, Mr. Hinrichs was repeatedly recognized for exceptional performance.

After the death of his wife Margaret Klinkhamer in 2004, he married Patricia Dreger, symphony flutist and widow of Alvin Dreger, cellist, in 2006. He passed away peacefully at home with his loving wife, Patricia, by his side on May 15, 2015.

The above is an edited version of Holm Hinrichs’ obituary, which may be found in its entirety here.