Josephine Marie Hinckley

Josephine Marie (Krebs) Hinckley was born In North Logan, UT, on May 20, 1931. She was the second of 10 children born to Alfred and Florence (Doutre) Krebs. She was born at home in a small 2 room house which was located on a 40 acre farm. She loved horses and rode and broke them starting at a very early age. Riding horseback was her mode of transportation at that time. She loved animals and always had lots of pets. Being the oldest girl in a large family she had many responsibilities helping her mother care for her younger siblings and doing lots of chores.

Josephine met her future husband, Bradford Hinckley, at a missionary farewell dance when she was 15. He asked her to dance and asked her what her name was. When she told him it was Josephine, he started to laugh and she thought he was very rude. Later she saw his 1929 Model A Ford with the name JOSEPHINE on the visor. He had a car he called Josephine, The Ford Machine. It sounds like he found a girl to go with it! 

Bradford and Josephine were married in the Logan LDS temple on June 1, 1948, and were married for 57 years. They had six children, three girls and three boys. They later adopted three of Josephine’s nieces who had lost their mother. Raising nine children was quite a challenge for them. The family came to the Gallatin Valley in the early 1950s and made their home near Four Corners. They kept this property but lived in several small towns for Bradford’s work including Logan, UT, Sweet Grass, MT, Circle, MT, Fox, MT, and Luther MT. In their later years they moved to the Belgrade area. They raised milk goats, had horses, chickens, rabbits, and of course dogs and cats. Josephine raised Pomeranian dogs. She was a 4H leader and helped her children with their many 4H projects.

Josephine was a very talented woman and loved making and collecting dolls and doll clothes. She made quiet books and most of her family’s clothes. She loved children and had a very special way of communicating with them.

After her youngest son started school, Josephine went to work at Glacier Mountain Cheese in Gallatin Gateway, MT. She later worked at Holiday Inn, Western Café, AGR fraternity house and MSU as a cook. Later she became a custodian at MSU. After retiring from MSU she did food samples at Costco in Bozeman.

Josephine passed away at the age of 93 on December 23, 2024, at Edgewood Vista in Belgrade. She is survived by her sons, Roger (Heather) Hinckley, of Havre, MT, Lewis (Lynette) Hinckley, of Bismarck, ND, and Toby (Shannon) Hinckley, of Burley, ID; her daughters, Jessie (Ed) Vail, of Bozeman, MT, and Vikki (Keith) Nay of Medford, OR; and 3 adopted nieces, Marie Marshall, of Vancouver, WA, Melvina Hinckley of Spokane, WA, and Tori Gomez of Wasilla, AK. She is also survived by her sister, Roma Shaffer, of New Port Richey, FL; brothers, Art Krebs, of Coeur d'Alene, ID, and Allen Krebs, of Sandpoint, ID; as well as 30 grandchildren, 50 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great-grandchildren. Josephine was preceded in death by her husband, Bradford Hinckley; daughter, Florence Schueler; four brothers and two sisters; granddaughter, Natasha St. Pierre; grandson, Abram Christopher; and 2 great-grandsons, Ryan Provancher and Grant Christopher.

Visitation will be Friday, January 3, 2025, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., at Dahl Funeral & Cremation Service, 300 Highland Boulevard, Bozeman, MT. Funeral services for Josephine will be held Saturday, January 4, 2025, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 297 Bridger View Drive, Belgrade, MT. Visitation will begin at 10:00 a.m., followed by the service at 11:00 a.m.