Mrs. Edith M. Hinrichs

Edith (Moskowitz) Hinrichs, 81, died Thursday, July 28, 2016 in her family’s home in Manhattan, Kansas. She was born July16th, 1935 in Bronx, New York to Anna and Alex Moskowitz. She attended the New York High School of Performing Arts, where she specialized in dance, and was fortunate to have worked and studied with the likes of Robert Joffrey, Alvin Ailey, and Martha Graham. She received her Master’s degree in Acting and Directing from Kansas State University in 1975. In 1954, while dancing in Manteo, North Carolina summer stock production of the Lost Colony, she met Carl Hinrichs. They were married soon after. They moved to Manhattan with their family in 1964. Edith was a fixture for many years in the Manhattan theater and dance community. Along with the work of her husband Carl, a Scenic Designer and Director at Kansas State University, she graced the stages of Manhattan Civic Theater and Kansas State University, using her talent for acting, directing and choreography. She taught dance classes at the university as well as community classes through University for Mankind. Both Edith and Carl were instrumental in furthering the development of Manhattan Civic Theater and the Manhattan Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. Edith also played a large part in founding the United Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation. Edith and Carl moved to Fairhope, Alabama in 2004, after snow birding for several years before taking up permanent residence there. Despite the move, Edith remained close to her family in Kansas, visiting frequently. As her illness progressed, she moved back to Manhattan to be closer to them. Edith is survived by a daughter, Lydia E. Wainwright of Annapolis, Maryland; three sons, Aaron C. Hinrichs, of Manhattan; Raymond J. Hinrichs, of Wichita; and Steven L. (Jada) Hinrichs, of Manhattan; two granddaughters, Misty Ann (Josh) Opat of St. George; Ashley E. Hinrichs of Manhattan, and one great grandson Cameron Opat, as well as many close friends she considered family. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband and a sister, Sylvia Wainwright. A Celebration Of Life is scheduled for October 1st at the Unitarian Fellowship of Manhattan. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in her honor to Good Shepherd Home Care and Hospice, or United Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation, in care of Irvin-Parkview Funeral Home in Manhattan, Kansas.