The difference between a woman and a lady is the difference between a soda and, say, a rich chardonnay.

I would use adjectives like “grace,” “eloquence” and “sophistication” to describe such females.

And, because they are special and unique, there are not many of them. The ladies I have known I could count on one hand, they are that rare and, indeed, that special.

Avis Hinks most certainly was one of them.

Avis died this week in the quiet confines of her room at Turning Brook.

Which is sad, not so much because she no longer is here, but, rather, because all of us missed a golden opportunity this summer to celebrate in style with her on the Fourth of July. Avis was 99 when she walked through the Pearly Gates. She would have been 100 on Independence Day and, indeed, she and her family were looking forward to a memorable celebration.

In a column I wrote about Avis in February 2009, I said, “Over the years, I have come to love Avis for the enthusiasm that she embraces life with and would classify her as a true renaissance woman.”

And she really was. She loved many things, like art, literature, history, and politics, and, over the years, I had many a conversation with her on each.

Jay Shaw, her oldest son, holds fond memories of his mother’s enthusiasm, or was it perhaps her “feisty” spirit.

“Her spirit was to do it big, and do it right,” he said. And as she did that, he remembered, “there was lots of laughter and lots of fun.”

Shaw remembers attending an event in Detroit where, by the time he and his mother arrived, there were no more seats left. That didn’t stop Avis, however, as she walked into the adjoining lobby, grabbed a chair and proceeded to carry it down the center row of the gathering to the very front row, where she placed it and told Shaw to have a seat.

While Avis had many wonderful and warm traits, punctuality apparently was not one of them.

“She was never quite on time,” he said.

Shaw smiled through the phone as he recalled many an airplane trip with his mother, where they would arrive late at the gate after a plane had been loaded and its door closed. Today, it would never happen, but, on those trips, Shaw remembered he and his mother having the door reopened so they could board the plane, with the eyes of all the passengers on them as they walked to their seats. He said he had many fond travel memories with his mother.

Avis would light up any room in which she walked, and she loved life.

“She loved Alpena,” Shaw said. “She loved to entertain, and she made some really great friends here.”

Avis was proud that she and her second husband, David, donated to Alpena Public Schools the land where Hinks Elementary School now is located. Shaw remembered that, often, Avis would invite some of the girls at Hinks to her home across U.S.-23 for an afternoon of tea and treats. It was quite the affair, he said, and it made her happy.

Often, Avis would stop by to visit with me at the newspaper. She loved The Alpena News and always was eager to share with me something she read or something she either wanted more information about, or else something she had extra insight into. She was a talker, and every visit was delightful and interesting.

When the ladies in our front office first learned her age, they couldn’t believe it. Indeed, Avis was 99 going on 50, or so it seemed.

Because Avis has been in Turning Brook for awhile now, it has been some time since she last visited my office. I remember that visit well, however, as she brought me some newspaper clippings she had found while cleaning and thought I would enjoy them.

It was an hour spent catching up on her family and discussing the politics of the day. In the end, she reminisced about patriotism, and the times her family members had served the country. It was a great visit, and I enjoyed the newspaper clippings she shared.

I and many others in our area will miss her greatly.

Adlai Stevenson once said “it is not the years in your life but the life in your years that counts.”

When it came to Avis, she was blessed with an abundance of both.

Bill Speer can be reached at 989-354-3111, ext. 311, or bspeer@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @billspeer13.