|
Gwynne Hinterthuer was born in Fort Smith on October 26, 1947, to Elvis and LaVerne Robbins. She was the oldest of four children, with brothers four and eight years younger and a sister 17 years younger. She lived in Arkoma, Oklahoma, until the sixth grade when the family moved to Fort Smith. Gwynne was raised in the Methodist Church from day one. The family attended a small Methodist Church in Arkoma and joined another small Methodist Church when they moved to Fort Smith. That congregation subsequently built a new church, and the family became charter members of Wesley United Methodist Church. Gwynne was a very active member there until she finished college. She already was taking piano lessons but taught herself to play the organ and served as Wesley’s church organist until she went away to college. Gwynne’s mother believed that if the church’s doors were unlocked, the family should be there, and they usually were.
In high school Gwynne was an honor student and participated in various school organizations. She also was piano accompanist for school band members in solo competitions and played the organ for morning school devotionals over the intercom system (yes, they had Christian devotionals in public schools in the 60s!). Gwynne also worked at J. C. Penneys after school, on weekends, and during summers.
Upon high school graduation, Gwynne attended Arkansas Tech in Russellville, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in business education and a minor in English. At Tech Gwynne was active in student government and served in her senior year as secretary of the Student Senate. In the spring of her sophomore year at Tech, while running in a student senate election, she met Mark Hinterthuer., who was running for junior class president. They dated for the remainder of their college years but did not get married immediately upon graduation. Mark headed for the University of Nebraska at Omaha to obtain his master’s degree in clinical psychology, and Gwynne secured her first teaching job at Waynesville High School in Waynesville, Missouri. Gwynne taught business subjects on the high school level that year and kept the airways and telephone lines hot between there and Omaha.
Gwynne and Mark were married on May 30, 1970, and Gwynne moved to Omaha. She taught that year at a business college in Omaha but came to realize that she didn’t want to teach at that level. Mark was a commissioned Second Lieutenant in the Army Medical Service Corps, having received a commission upon graduation as a Distinguished Military Graduate from Tech. When he finished his master’s degree, he received orders to report to Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The couple moved to base housing in San Antonio, and Mark served as the Executive Officer of the Medical Holding Company at Brooke Army Medical Center. Their daughter Julie was born at Brooke in April the next spring.
After Mark’s two years of service at Fort Sam Houston where he was discharged as a Captain, he obtained a position with the Arkansas Department of Mental Retardation Development Disabilities Services. The young family moved to North Little Rock and bought their first house on Garland Avenue. Gwynne stayed at home with Julie, Scott was born the following year, and the family was complete.
In 1976, the family moved to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where Mark enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi as a full time student to obtain his Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Gwynne obtained a position at a law firm, unaware that this was the start of her career. After Mark’s two years of doctoral course work, the family moved to St. Louis, where Mark began a one-year clinical internship at Malcolm Bliss Mental Health Center which was part of Washington University School of Medicine. Gwynne found another law firm job, Julie began first grade, and Scott continued to go to daycare.
Upon Mark’s completion of his internship, he was hired as a clinical psychologist by the mental health center in Hot Springs, and the family moved there. They were thrilled to get back to Arkansas near their families. Gwynne again obtained a job in a law firm, both children were in school, and the family felt that they finally were starting some roots.
In the summer of 1983, Mark was hired by the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in Little Rock/North Little Rock, and the family moved back to North Little Rock. They bought a house in Indian Hills, Gwynne obtained another law firm position, and the family settled there. They joined First United Methodist Church, and Gwynne and Mark joined the Builders Class. Almost immediately, the Builders Class “twisted Gwynne’s arm” to play the piano for the class, and she hasn’t stopped since. Gwynne has also served on the Administrative Board and the Endowment Committee of FUMC.
Through the years Gwynne became passionate about her career as a paralegal, worked herself up through the ranks, and became one of the first certified paralegals in Arkansas in 1989. She was active for many years in the Arkansas Association of Legal Assistants and served as its President in 1990. She worked at the Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard law firm for seven and one-half years upon the family’s return to the Little Rock area. In 1990, Gwynne was hired by the Friday, Eldredge & Clark law firm, where she continues to work. She works for the Managing Partner of the law firm and specializes in trusts and estates. She has heavy client contact and works much like a bank trust officer.
In 1992, Gwynne organized the Investment Builders Partnership investment club and has served as its chairman ever since. Many of the Club’s 20 members are also members of the Builders Class.
Gwynne has been a member of the Arkansas Tech Foundation Board for three years and currently serves as its secretary. She is a co-trustee of a charitable trust that contributes scholarship funds for needy students at Arkansas Tech. She loves to play bridge and thinks there is no such thing as playing too much bridge. She also has developed a passion for good health, physical fitness and good nutrition and works out at a gym three to four times per week. When she has time, she loves to cook and to entertain. She also loves to travel with Mark and in recent years, has become smitten with her granddaughter Hannah. She and Mark are planning to retire in three or four years so that they can enjoy visiting their family and traveling whenever they want. She loves FUMC and the Builders Class and feels like the class is family to her and Mark.
To complete Mark’s gaps in the story, he was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on September 27, 1947, to Ray and Marge Hinterthuer. Mark was the middle of three sons born to Ray and Marge within a four-year time period. The family lived in the Milwaukee area until the early 1950s, when Mark’s uncle, Dr. Martin Heidgen, who was brother-in-law to Mark’s father and who served in the same medical unit during WWII, bought St. Mary’s Hospital in Russellville. Mark’s mother was a nurse anesthetist, and Dr. Heidgen convinced the family to move to Russellville so that Marge could be the nurse anesthetist and Director of Nursing at St. Mary’s Hospital. Marge was on 24-hour per day, 365 days-a-year call, and the family suffered through many hard years when Marge was at the hospital more than she was at home. In addition, Mark’s younger brother Jack became ill with polio at the age of five. He had a severe case and was hospitalized in Little Rock for a long period. When he returned home, the City of Russellville allowed the family to reserve the city swimming pool after hours so that Jack could get water therapy. Naturally, the other two brothers were able to swim with Jack when he was having his therapy. The boys attended Catholic school in the neighboring city of Dardanelle. This was a small two-room school with grades 1-4 in one room and 5-8 in the other room. Each of the two nuns taught four grades at once and one year had all three of the Hinterthuer boys in the same classroom, thus earning a higher place in heaven.
Mark graduated from Catholic High School in Little Rock. He boarded at St. Johns Seminary on the grounds where the current Catholic diocese is located. At Catholic High, he played on the varsity basketball team and then played American Legion baseball in Russellville during the summer. He was fortunate to have Father Tribou, a demanding but gifted teacher, for all English literature classes. Upon graduation, Mark returned to Russellville and lived at home while attending Arkansas Tech.
Mark worked many jobs during the summers of his college years, among which were at a steel mill in Illinois near his grandmother’s home, the chicken processing plant in Russellville where he was a Alunger@ (ask him what that means) and at Fort Chaffee where he and his brother Rick were on a work crew to paint the Army barracks.
At Arkansas Tech he knew from the start that he wanted to be a psychologist. He majored in psychology, was an honor student, cleaned out the rat cages in the psychology lab, played intramural sports, and was in ROTC.
When Mark began his job at the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System, he worked as a clinical psychologist in the inpatient acute psychiatry unit and later in the outpatient Mental Health Clinic. His patients included many World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War veterans, many of whom had post traumatic stress disorder. He had a rapport and empathy with his patients that proved to be a positive trait in his therapy. Later at the VA, Mark worked with veterans from the Gulf war, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He helped develop a variety of treatment programs for veterans. Mark’s good work ethic and his leadership traits were noticed by his superiors; several years ago, he was named the Chief Psychologist, a position he currently holds. He directs the clinical activities of over 24 Ph.D. psychologists assigned to both the Little Rock and North Little Rock Divisions. Mark also serves as Training Director for the VA’s predoctoral psychology internship program and a new post-doctoral fellowship. That position in itself could be a fulltime position. Mark’s job as Chief Psychologist requires that he spend a lot of his time on administrative issues, although his patient contact continues with the drug and alcohol treatments groups that he leads.
Mark is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Mark has been on the faculty at UAMS for over 20 years and supervises second-year psychiatry residents in their required psychotherapy rotations.
In addition, Mark has served as President of the Arkansas Psychological Association and for 12 years served on the American Psychological Association’s Council of Representatives. This body sets the policy for the American Psychological Association. Through the APA, Mark became a site visitor for reviewing APA-accredited internship programs throughout the country. He continues in that capacity, and these visits determine whether a program will remain accredited. Through the APA, Mark received both the prestigious Heiser Award and a Special Presidential Citation for important contributions to the field of psychology.
Mark has a very dry and funny sense of humor and makes people laugh very easily. He usually has a funny comment about most situations. There is no doubt in his mind that he could coach both the Razorback football and basketball teams at the same time better than they have been coached recently. Mark’s other interests include art, history, music, golf, and documentaries about interesting subjects. His biggest interest, however, other than golf, is his collection of autographed pictures of famous and infamous politicians and his political paraphernalia collection.
Mark values the friendships he has made through the years in the Builders Class and like Gwynne, feels very comfortable in the class. Anyone who knows Mark knows that the apple of his eye is his granddaughter Hannah, and he plans to retire in three or four years so that he can spend more time with her and maybe other grandchildren. |
