Teresia Mbari Hinga

Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga’s funeral mass services are scheduled for Wednesday April 5th, 2023, 11:30am at St. Celestine Church, 3020 North 76th Court, Elmwood Park, Illinois. Officiated by Father Paul Kalenzi and Father Stan Chu Ilo. Interment will follow after mass at Calvary Cemetery, 301 Chicago Avenue, Evanston IL 60202, with burial in Grave 2, Lot 47, Block 50, Section J.

The Kenyan funeral service is scheduled for Tuesday April 4th, 2023, in Ndumberi Kiambu.

Teresia Mbari Hinga was born January 25, 1955, as the youngest of seven children to her late parents, Agnes Wairimu and Ernest Hinga, in the village of Ndumberi, Kiambu in British-occupied Kenya.  She was sister to her late siblings: Zita Nyambura, Norbert Kamau, Regina Wang’eri, Alphonse Mungai and Stephen Chege.  She was a loving mother, grandmother, and godmother who protected her children and helped them flourish with her grand sense of humor, love of song, and faith in God. As a single mother who balanced her professional life with her home life, she is survived by her two beautiful children, son Anthony Hinga and daughter Pauline Wairimu Kenly, her son in-law Thom Kenly, and her two grandchildren, Zoe and Nia Kenly, all in Chicago. In Kenya she is survived by her brother Michael Machua, her many nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives, friends, and colleagues. 

Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga earned a B.Ed. in English Literature and Religious Studies. which she passed with first class honors from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, and an M.A. in Religious Studies from Nairobi University. She earned a Ph.D. in Religious Studies/African Christianity from the University of Lancaster in England in 1990. She was an African Christian feminist who pioneered the fields of African feminist theology and ethics. Dr. Hinga was an Associate Professor of Religion at Santa Clara University, California (2005-2023). Before that, she had joined DePaul University, Chicago (1994-2005), having previously taught at Kenyatta University in Nairobi Kenya (1987-1994).

Service for her began at home supporting family members with their financial needs for education and medical purposes.  Beyond that, she was a devoted friend to her home village of Ndumberi - Kiambu, finding seed money for local farmers, planting and growing trees, facilitating training for rainwater harvesting and organic farming methods.

She was a dedicated professor of religion and a welcoming friend who mentored hundreds of students and young scholars and promoted the scholarship of fellow professors, making them feel welcomed, known and heard. Dr. Hinga was a founding member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians in Accra, Ghana in 1989. She promoted the Circle throughout her career. She was also a founding member and on the executive committee of the African Association of the Study of Religion (AASR), a member of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), a member on the board of the Journal of Global Catholicism, and a member of the Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church (CTEWC) Network until her death.

She bowed to a protracted battle with cancer on March 31st, 2023, in Chicago, Illinois, surrounded by her family and friends after receiving all the Catholic rites by Fr. Paul Kalenzi and Fr. Stan Chu Ilo.

We invite you contribute towards Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga’s funeral expenses through the following methods:

Zelle: phkenly@yahoo.com or CashApp: Pauline Kenly $profTeresia2023

Arrangements entrusted to Evanston Funeral & Cremation, Roland F. Weis director. Info 847 866-8843, condolence and guestbook at evanstonfuneral.com

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