By Susan Hinckley-Porter and Karen Campbell
Our mother, Priscilla Hinckley, known to most as Prill, passed on to her final adventure this past January, at age 92, after a long and healthy life. She was an adventurer who lived life to the fullest, with an intensity not commonly found, optimism being one of her enduring traits. She attended Connecticut College, Columbia Teachers’ College, and completed her Ph.D. in African Art at Boston University.
As a young woman, she spent time in France in 1947, assisting children to reunite with their families after the war. As she wrote, “It was one of the hottest summers ever recorded and while it made for superb wine, it also made for a lot of discomfort for two young American women living out of rucksacks in a war-torn chateau.” This experience started her lifelong love of travel and included living in Ghana, Tanzania and in the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso. She traveled to Tanzania alone across oceans in 1966 with three young children…unheard of in those days! Though a world traveler, she always considered Vermont her home. As an artist, she loved New England seasons, especially the fall colors and winter snow, and she painted these many times.
Prill had many roles at F&W beginning in the 1960’s, in addition to being a parent and grandparent to campers at Flying Squirrels, The Barn, IB, TL, FC, SAM, and TF. She was the first Director of Dark Meadow and was thrilled at the creation of Red Spruce Grove, her will specifying a donation for camperships there. She deeply valued the community and said “You need to know your history but be able to change with times.” She was an Arts & Crafts counselor at IB, became a Director, served on the Board of Trustees, and was a member of the Friends of F&W. She was an illustrator for the Interim and other camp publications.
Fiercely independent, she found living in a small assisted living studio to be a challenge. Her daughter, Sue, reminded her that she could live anywhere because she had loved living in a tipi at F&W! Prill was strong, opinionated, a mother who loved her family deeply, an artist, a teacher, a feminist, a gardener, politically active and well-read. She deeply believed in her power to leave the world a better place through her actions. She didn’t go anywhere quietly, loved a good challenge, always stood up for what she believed, and left us all with many wonderful memories. She embodied the values of F&W and always felt