Hinton Mitchem

Hinton Mitchem (May 18, 1938 – January 22, 2013) was a Democratic member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 9th District from 1979 to January 1987 and then again from June 1987 to January 2011. He received his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Education from the University of Georgia in 1961. He also served in the U.S. Coast Guard. He moved from Georgia to Marshall County, Alabama, in 1962. He was the owner of Hinton Mitchem Tractor Co., Inc. from 1965 until he sold it in 2005.

Political service Mitchem first entered politics as a member of the Albertville, Alabama City Council in 1968. He had Alzheimer's disease. In addition to suffering with Alzheimer's disease for several years, in 2011 Mitchem was diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, a fatal neuro-muscular disease with no known cause or cure.