Wynn Elliot Hines, a loving son, brother, cousin, uncle, friend, coach, husband, partner, and companion, was born on June 11, 1961, in Cleveland, Ohio. He was the sixth of seven children born to the late Edward and Ann Ophelia Hines.

Wynn’s older siblings, Larry, Edward II (Skip), Leon, Jarmellia, and Erwin, welcomed their baby brother into their loving household. Wynn had a close and unique relationship with each sibling. He held the distinction of being the youngest in the Hines clan for nine years until the birth of their baby sister, Dawn.

Wynn was raised in a Christian home where family togetherness, hard work, and entrepreneurship were values ingrained by Edward, Ann, his siblings, and a large extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins. His childhood experiences with his siblings are too numerous to mention. They lived in a busy, fun-filled, loving household. Together, they played sports, attended Antioch Baptist Church, and worked in the family business. They continued to enjoy each other’s company, recount childhood memories, and make new ones as they raised their own families. Each sibling had a unique relationship and influence on Wynn:

• His sense of style from Larry’s fashion classes
• His passion for golf from competitive outings with Ed
• His development as a players’ coach under Leon’s coaching tutelage at Shaw High
• His love of cooking and grandparenting shared with his big sister Jarmellia
• His special Big Brother/Little Brother relationship with Erwin through college, work, and community
• His legendary cookouts with his baby sister Dawn

Wynn attended Shaker schools for K-12 and graduated from Shaker Heights High in 1979. He would always tease his brothers that, as a wide receiver, he was the only one of them who didn’t have his hands in the dirt, aka play on the offensive line.

He had a group of dear friends, “the Ludlow Crew,” that remained close for over 50 years. He maintained a special bond with his three “Boys” – Anthony Brown, Terry Buckner, and the dearly departed Derwin Davis – who, with Wynn, made up the self-proclaimed Four Horsemen of Ludlow.

After high school, Wynn attended the University of Toledo with his big brother, Erwin. The brothers brought their entrepreneurial spirit to U of T, leading the Black Student Union, hosting talent shows, dances, and of course, barbecues. Following college, he joined the family business, Wake Forest Landscaping and Garden Center, started by his father, Edward, in 1945.

Wynn was a “people-person” who developed lasting relationships in every aspect of his life. Each relationship held a special place in his heart, and he cherished every person who received his love. However, his most cherished role was that of a devoted father to Hillary (Ree-Ree) and Wynn Tyler (Tyler), born from his 1993 marriage to Terri Muldrow-Hines, which lasted ten years. From the time of their birth, Wynn and Terri instilled in them a love of family and friends and were committed to raising Hillary and Tyler to be kind, loving, and productive adults. Wynn and Terri’s friendship and devotion to their children continued throughout his life. Wynn was extremely proud of his children. He recently shared how happy he was about Hillary’s engagement and academic achievements, as well as Tyler’s career success. He also knew they were going to be okay.

Wynn’s fatherly love extended to the children of his loving partner, Rhonda Nash. Together, Wynn and Rhonda formed a blended family with her boys, Tyler, Taylor, and Jonathan Nash, and Hillary and Wynn Tyler. The five children attended Beachwood schools together and formed an enduring bond that lasts to this day.

Wynn was a “people-person” who developed close, long-lasting relationships in every aspect of his life, but would often say, “Family is Everything!”

In addition to his siblings, Wynn maintained close relationships with cousins, Greg Conwell and Ben Pressley, but was especially close with his younger “brother/cousin,” Road Dog and Gator, John Wallace Todd.

Wynn spoke fondly of times he spent during his youth visiting the Hines family ancestral home of Chidester, Arkansas – hanging out in the woods and White Oak Lake with his cousin Kenny, or sitting around the homesteads of his other cherished cousins. As an adult, he and Erwin organized trips to Arkansas to visit cousins and go hunting – replete with cologne to alert any game they might want to hunt.

Wynn had close, loving relationships with all of his nieces and nephews. They loved spending time together, as evidenced by their regular family get-togethers where Wynn savored his role as the elder grill master. Regular intergenerational outings included Browns’ tailgate parties, birthday celebrations, engagement parties, holiday gatherings, and weekend trips with his brothers and nephews to Ohio State football games. Ever supportive, he would never miss a sporting event in which a niece or nephew played or coached. One of Wynn’s last communications on the family chat asked about the family’s plans to attend the Glenville High basketball semifinals game to support his nephew and former player, Coach Bryan Ottrix.

Wynn’s passion for leadership and mentoring youth developed while coaching boys’ basketball at Shaw High School and extended to girls’ and boys’ basketball at Beachwood Middle and High Schools. Wynn coached youth in the Forest Hills league and, with several friends, went on to start Fire Youth Football. Fire was a family affair. Wynn coached, Tyler played, and Hillary was on the cheerleading squad. The teams produced multiple local and national championships, and many of the Fire players went on to play in high school and college. Through his coaching, Wynn was able to connect with many young fathers and players. He led by example and exemplified what it meant to be a strong, engaged, and loving father. Many close bonds came out of “Fire,” including that with his grilling partner and dearly departed friend, Greg Alexander.

In his recent retirement, Wynn had the opportunity to dote on his first grandchild, River, who he affectionately nicknamed “River Boat.” He took her for walks and even had the opportunity to revive his diaper-changing skills. This past Christmas, Wynn bought River her first bicycle and had plans to create a play area in his backyard this spring. He and his beloved River truly formed a strong bond during her three years.

Wynn Elliot Hines was preceded in death by his mother, Ann Ophelia, father, Edward, and oldest brother, Larry Albert Hines. He leaves to cherish his memory, children Hillary and Wynn Tyler Hines; siblings Edward II (Pat), Leon (Deborah), Jarmellia (Levin), Erwin (Lolita), and Dawn; granddaughter, River; his loving partner, Rhonda Nash, and her children, Taylor, Tyler, and Jonathan; and a host of loving nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.