Barbara Louise Miller Hintze left this world on August 18, 2026. She lived a life defined by faith, gratitude, courage, hope, service, love, and extraordinary resilience. She is held in loving memory by her friends and family.
Born to Maurice A. and Anne Bray Miller in Memphis, Tennessee, on December 12, 1957, she joined sisters Nancye and Martha Anne. After finishing her elementary years in Memphis, her father, a U.S. Secret Service agent, was transferred to Washington, D.C. The family moved to Springfield, Virginia, for two years and then to San Antonio, Texas. Barbara graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1976, where she excelled academically and played on N.E.I.S.D.’s first high school girls’ volleyball team. A proud member of the Texas A&M University Class of 1980, Barbara earned a BBA in Management. There, she was active in academic and service groups alike.
Barbara’s life changed profoundly at the end of her sophomore year at A&M, when a catastrophic car accident left her with a traumatic brain injury. After a month-long coma, Barbara had to learn to walk and talk again. She spent years rehabilitating her body and mind. Barbara later described the accident as a death of sorts: the end of life as the “old Barbara” and the beginning of life as the “new Barbara.” Though the injury changed her profoundly, Barbara always thanked God that her morals and values remained intact. What the new Barbara went on to accomplish far exceeded the expectations for her recovery.
Barbara earned a B.A. in Education of the Hearing Impaired from Trinity University in 1985. She found her calling at San Antonio’s Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children, where she devoted the next 30 years to educating deaf and hard of hearing children. While teaching, she earned an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction, with a concentration in Reading, from the University of Texas at San Antonio. After retirement, she founded the Sunbeams, a group for Sunshine Cottage retirees that continues to meet monthly. She also enjoyed active involvement in Bunco, Reading Club, Bible Study, and her neighborhood women’s group.
On April Fool’s Day in 1989, Barbara met Army JAG officer William R. “Bill” Hintze. They married the following March 24 at the Fort Sam Houston Gift Chapel and shared 36 years of marriage. Barbara deeply loved and appreciated the life she and Bill built together. Together, they enjoyed U.S. and international travel, supporting the San Antonio Spurs, attending live music and theater performances, entertaining friends and family, reading, and nurturing each dog they raised: Maxwell, Chester, Sophie, and Arlo. For nearly 30 years, Barbara and Bill also welcomed her cousin Gray Bray for summer visits. The Djenics, Rade, Buba, Brano, Elizabeth, Mila, Maks, and Lana, became treasured extended family.
A lifelong and devout Catholic, Barbara’s faith was at the center of her life. She lived that faith through service to others, volunteering with church ministries and numerous community organizations throughout her life. She participated in more than 10 pilgrimages across Europe and to Israel, Egypt, and Turkey, mostly with her beloved Father Eric. Her faith sustained her through many of the challenges she faced, including her diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer, from which she recovered. Friends and family will remember Barbara as an outspoken, joyful, and loving presence who was remarkably surrendered to God.
Barbara was predeceased by her grandparents; parents, Maurice A. and Anne Bray Miller; sisters, Nancye and Martha Anne; numerous aunts and uncles; two cousins; and mother-in-law, Jaqueline Moreau Hintze.
She is survived by her much loved and appreciated husband of 36 years, William R. “Bill” Hintze; sister-in-law, Barb Curtis; brothers-in-law, Ralph (Diane), Mike (Susan), and Gary Hintze; nephews, Matthew McCall (Katie), John Hintze, David Hintze (Tasha), Joshua Curtis, Nicholas Hintze, and Griffin Hintze; nieces, Cameron McCall and Stella Curtis; great-niece, Arden McCall and great-nephew, Reece McCall; her beloved extended Djenic family, Rade, Buba, Brano (Elizabeth), Mila, Maks, and Lana; cousins, Gray Bray, Cathy Bray (Bob Potts), Pat Phillips, Maryann Brooks (Robert), Emily Holland, Rick Phillips (Karla), and Scott Bray; and many dear friends.
The family will receive friends from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, at Porter Loring Mortuary North, located at 2102 North Loop 1604 East, San Antonio, TX 78232. A Rosary will follow at 7:00 p.m.
The Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Matthew Catholic Church, located at 10703 Wurzbach Rd, San Antonio, TX 78230.
Interment will follow at 11:30 a.m. at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
Memorials may be made in Barbara’s name to Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the American Cancer Society, Brain Injury Association of America, Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, or a charity of your choice.
