Mike Hinton, who served as president of the Sacred Harp Publishing Company from 2002–25.
Mike Hinton, president of the Sacred Harp Publishing Company, passed away on July 18, 2025. Mike had served as president since 2002. A grandson of T. J. Denson, he was a direct link to the family that played an integral role in founding the Publishing Company and issuing the first “Denson” revision of the Sacred Harp in 1936.
Mike was an effective leader with extensive experience and organizational insight. He brought us together in pursuit of ambitious goals and he helped us achieve them with efficiency and excellence. As he traveled widely to singings, he was an outstanding representative of the Publishing Company and the traditions of Sacred Harp singing. We will miss his commitment, his professionalism, and his dignified manner. He was instrumental in supporting the revision of “The Sacred Harp” and we sincerely regret that he will not be with us in person as we launch the new book this September.
Mike shared memories and family stories in an article he wrote for the Sacred Harp Publishing Company Newsletter in 2013, “Aunt Ruth’s Bible,” in which he described his aunt Ruth Denson Edwards as a “one of a kind person.” We would say exactly the same about Mike.
You can read Mike’s obituary here. The Hinton family will be hosting a Celebration of Life Service for Mike on Saturday, October 4, 2025, at 10:00 at Coker Methodist Church, 231 E. North Loop Rd., 78216, in San Antonio, Texas. All singers, from near and far, are invited to attend.
Left: Mike Hinton with cousins Amanda Denson Brady and Richard Mauldin. Photo by Ginnie Ely.
Center: Mike Hinton with his aunt Ruth Denson Edwards in Gettysburg, PA, c. 1950.
Right: Mike Hinton at the All-California Convention, 2004. Photo by Ginnie Ely.
Mike Hinton at the All-California Convention, 2004. Photo by Ginnie Ely.
Mike Hinton was an energetic singer I was privileged to know. He fostered so many new singers including myself many years ago. I occasionally went with him to visit B. E. Mathews and Ophelia when they could no longer attend singing. His love of the Lord shined through his life in all he did.