Sophia Grace Hinkley

Sophia Grace Hinkley, 9, of Cadillac, MI, left this world tightly wrapped in the arms of her loving mother, Anne, on September 19, 2023, after fighting a long and courageous battle against cancer. Born on June 30, 2014, in Cadillac, Sophia was mostly known as Sweet Sophia, Peewee, Wigglebutt, and Little One to her mother and father, Anne and Jamie Hinkley, but grew to prefer that friends call her Sophie. She was a bright and happy baby, filled with laughter and sass from the very beginning. Anyone who got past her shy exterior would say that her sassiness and silly nature only grew as she did, as she was always quick with a snide quip or a poop joke. In fact, anything, involving poop never failed to make her laugh. She even went by the name “DoodooSophia” during hospital Bingo games, just so she could laugh when the announcers called it. She even donned her Ghost face mask from the Scream movies and “attacked” the caring and playful staff at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital on one or two occasions. All of that sass was overpowered by even more sweetness, though. Rarely would a day go by without Sophia telling her mother how beautiful she is, and saying how much she loved her family, her pets,(especially the pets) but also her army of stuffed giraffes, or “Honies,” as she called them from the moment she could speak. They were close friends, hospital patients, restaurant customers, and many more wonderfully imaginative roles in her pretend worlds. But, no matter what, and even in the worst of times, she was always full of love, and always deeply loved. For only being 9 years old, Sophie was complicated. She could go from watching horror movies with her dad to Grey’s Anatomy with her mom. Then, she might run off to play pretend with her brother, Brendon, create horror effects makeup and slime with her sister, Valerie, or chat and play with her Ccousins: Kyler, Addison, Christian, Ellie, as well as countless other dear friends. She also liked to spend time by herself with Modern Family on the tv as she designed houses and collected pets in Adopt Me, or built houses in Minecraft. She was a fierce competitor in any game, especially racing video games and memory card games, complete with her own maniacal laugh to celebrate each and every victory, a laugh that will never be forgotten. Sophia loved every season, every holiday, and, well, everyday. In the spring and summers, she enjoyed Lake Michigan and zoo trips with her family, picking sweet peas with her Grandparents, Marjourie and Tony Freese, swimming and playing with siblings and cousins at her Mimi and Papa Steve Brinks’ house, along with Aunt Amanda and Uncle Sean, and having many back yard barbeques with Grandpa Ron Hinkley, Aunts Bobbi and Ronda, Uncles Walt and Chuck, and Cousin Storm. During the fall and winter, she was always filled with the excitement of seeing her friends at school, the holidays, pumpkin patches, snow, hot cocoa, and lots of extra snuggle time. All year round, though, she loved dance. Even after she could no longer perform herself, she proudly cheered on her sister and friends at The Landing Dance Academy during every single performance she could attend. Though her life was cut so terribly short, she fully lived, loved, and was loved for every single second that she was here. She leaves behind an indelible mark on the hearts of everyone who knew her, and an absence like a black hole, just as her Aunt Stephanie Freese and Uncle David Brinks who passed before her. A visitation to celebrate Sophia’s life will be held Tuesday, October 3, 2023 at Peterson Funeral and Cremation Services in Cadillac from 5:00 to 7:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that people donate and participate in Spooky Sophie’s Halloween Birthday Bash, a new annual fall event being held at the Wexford County Fairgrounds in honor of Sophia and her eternal love of Halloween. An online guestbook is available at www.petersonfh.com.

Sophia Grace Hinkley

June 30, 2014 - September 19, 2023