Kelly Hinton

Kelly Hinton, age 66, of Ellendale, North Dakota, passed away on September 3, 2026. He was born on December 11, 1959.

Kelly’s life was marked by a deep commitment to faith, family, creativity, and the many things he loved. Cooking, preaching, music, building, creating, and spending time with family brought him great joy.

Food was an important part of Kelly’s life from an early age. Growing up around his father’s restaurant business, he was introduced to soul food and learned the value of hard work, hospitality, and serving others through food. Later, his father-in-law taught him how to cook barbecue. Kelly carried both traditions into his own food businesses, including Kelly’s in a Hurry Grill in Beloit, Wisconsin, and America Homeland Revival Ribs. What began as a restaurant operated for many years as a mostly stationary food trailer before returning to a building during Kelly’s final years.

Cooking was also one of the ways Kelly expressed his love and care for others. His children remember waking up to breakfasts of biscuits or pancakes, bacon, eggs, and grits; homemade pizzas and oversized birthday cakes; and his ability to stretch a meal when resources were limited. He taught his children practical kitchen skills, including teaching one daughter how to cut and fry chicken until something she had once feared became second nature.

Kelly was generous with what he made and never wanted anyone to go hungry. That generosity continued as his children grew older. During one visit, he prepared a delicious vegetarian meal for his daughter and her husband, even though vegetarian cooking was outside his usual style. It was a simple but meaningful example of his willingness to consider the people he loved and meet them where they were.

Throughout his life, Kelly worked in many different roles. In addition to owning food businesses, he worked as a custodian, in warehouses, and for companies including Radio Shack, Simmons, and Sears. Whatever the season, he worked hard to provide for his family.

Kelly was also remarkably gifted with his hands. As a young man, he won first place in woodworking shop and built his own speakers and sound system. Those components remained with him throughout his life, and decades later, he and his son added more speakers to that same system together.

He enjoyed cars and was rarely without a project. In his later years, it was not unusual for him to have five or six vehicles around. He once transformed a simple 6-by-10-foot trailer bed into an enclosed trailer with bump-outs and front storage. His 1989 Chevrolet Suburban became another distinctly Kelly creation. Wanting to make himself visible on the rural highways of North Dakota, he covered it with additional lights, including actual bus lights on the rear and a swan-shaped light at the front tip of the hood. It was practical, unconventional, creative, and unmistakably his.

That same determination and resourcefulness shaped the way Kelly cared for his children. They remember winter mornings when he started the van, moved snow, and made sure they got to school.

One son remembers being bullied in fifth grade. Rather than simply telling him to fight back or ignore the situation, Kelly contacted the other boy’s father and invited the father and son to his restaurant on Fourth Street. They ate together and talked through the problem. Before long, the two boys became good childhood friends. The experience reflected Kelly’s desire to address problems directly while still seeking understanding and resolution.

As his children grew older, they also came to appreciate Kelly’s willingness to listen. Even when he initially disagreed with their perspective, he was capable of reflecting on a conversation and returning later to say that he understood something differently, appreciated what had been shared, or realized he needed to apologize. His willingness to reconsider meant a great deal to them.

Family was at the heart of Kelly’s life. He was willing to travel long distances to spend time with those he loved, and many of his family’s favorite memories are rooted in simply being together—sharing meals, talking, laughing, making music, and traveling.

Music was woven throughout Kelly’s life. He loved speakers and sound systems, but he also loved making music. His son, a drummer, taught him to play bass guitar, and the two enjoyed playing together. On family road trips, Kelly would sing and sometimes rap over instrumentals, creating memories his children still remember with laughter.

One daughter remembers Kelly teaching her a simple two-step when she was about five years old as they danced to James Brown’s “Get on the Good Foot.” He encouraged music in his children as well, including buying his youngest daughter a viola for her 16th birthday.

Kelly could be reserved and sometimes kept to himself. As a father, he was methodical and firm, expecting his children to handle their responsibilities and grow into people of character. Yet when something truly captured his heart, his reserved nature could give way to a broad smile and unmistakable enthusiasm. He especially came alive when speaking about God, Scripture, a business idea, or something he hoped to create.

Kelly was a dreamer with a vivid imagination. At one point, he designed an entire amusement park centered on faith and the Bible. Although it was never built, the idea reflected his willingness to imagine far beyond what was immediately in front of him.

He had wide-ranging interests throughout his life. As a younger man, he enjoyed martial arts and boxing, appreciated dressing well and fine dining, and attended college for approximately two years, studying business and minoring in English. His curiosity, entrepreneurial spirit, and interest in communicating ideas remained with him long after his formal education ended.

Above all, Kelly loved God and His Word.

He became an ordained minister and loved to preach. Although he did not pastor a church of his own, he eagerly stepped behind the pulpit whenever he had the opportunity to share a word. His ministry also reached local television in Beloit through Kelly Hinton Ministries.

Kelly truly had the Word of God hidden in his heart. He often preached without notes, moving from Scripture to Scripture from memory and connecting biblical truths as he spoke. He preached with energy and conviction—raising his voice, singing, encouraging, exhorting, and sometimes using visual illustrations to help others understand his message.

Among the messages he preached were “Never Give Up, Never Give In,” “Ask, Seek, and Knock,” “Rejoice in the Lord,” and “Spirit, Soul, and Body.” These messages reflected themes of perseverance, prayer, faith, joy, spiritual growth, and trust in Jesus Christ.

The faith Kelly preached publicly was also part of everyday family life. He led his family in prayer, gathered them for Bible study, and shared Scripture around the table. Sometimes each person was expected to offer a different Bible verse before the family ate.

With time, those moments became even more precious to his children. One daughter counts them among her favorite memories of her father and wishes she could sit with him once more to read and study the Word of God together.

Kelly’s family will remember him in both the ordinary and extraordinary moments: in meals prepared and shared, projects built by hand, music and laughter on the road, conversations in which he listened, ideas larger than the circumstances around him, and Scripture spoken from a heart that had carried it for years.

Kelly is survived by his wife, Patricia Lynn Osborne Hinton; his children, Kellicia Carr (Chevar), Kelly Geister-Hinton (Christine), Kellexus Hinton, Kellrhema Udoetuk (Adam), and Kelle’mon Hinton (Caroline); his brother, James Hinton (Jamane); and his sister, Vanessa Williams (Ricky).

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ray and Alberta Green-Hinton; his brothers, Ray Jr. Hinton, Stanley Hinton, Gregory Hinton, and Kenneth Hinton; and his brother-in-law, Vallmer Wayman Jordan.

“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” — Romans 10:10–13

Visitation is 1-2pm Friday, September 11, 2026 at Hoven Funeral Chapel. Burial will follow at Ellendale City Cemetery. Arrangements by Hoven Funeral Chapel, Ellendale.