Mourners file into the church for the Mass of Christian Burial for
Rep. Hinchey
SAUGERTIES – A Mass of Christian Burial was held Wednesday for
former Congressman Maurice Hinchey, who died at age 79 on Wednesday, November
22.
The service, attended by family and friends at St. John the Evangelist
Roman Catholic Church in Saugerties – his hometown, was a celebration
of his life.
Hinchey served as a state assemblyman – the first Democrat in Ulster
County since 1912, prior to being elected to Congress, where he served
for 20 years.
While serving in Albany, Hinchey was chairman of the Assembly Environmental
Conservation Committee where he became known for his investigative work
of Love Canal, the nation’s first toxic waste site. He later led
a 10-year investigation into illegal dumping of toxic waste by organized
crime, which brought convictions against more than 20 people.
Hinchey was laid to rest in a private ceremony on the grounds of the Catskill
Interpretive Center that he championed.
Hinchey died after a long battle with Frontotemporal Degeneration, a rate
neurological condition.
