John E Pinkney

John E. “Jack” Pinkney passed away at home in Tuftonboro, NH on Tuesday, January 26 at the age of 90. Jack was a longtime resident of Woodbury, CT and summer resident of Melvin Village, NH before retiring to Tuftonboro in 1994. He was born in Greenwich , CT on January 10, 1926 to William and Dorothy Cowles Pinkney. He graduated from Greenwich High School in 1944, and attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served in the Quartermaster Corps of US Army during World War II and was stationed at Fort Devens, MA before his discharge in 1946 and his return to MIT. Jack and his wife Elizabeth-Ann “Betty-Ann” Higgins met while in school in Boston and married at her family’s summer home in Melvin Village, NH in July, 1948. They settled in Woodbury, CT where they raised their family and were happily married for 63 years before her passing in 2012. He was a lifelong insurance professional who worked for various companies before becoming a partner in the independent Woodbury (CT) Insurance Agency and a major contributor to its success before retiring in 1989. His industry honors included serving as President of Connecticut Insurance Field Club, President of Connecticut CPCU, Chairman of the Education Committee of Independent Insurance Agents of Connecticut, and President of the Independent Insurance Agents of Connecticut. Jack was an active community member in both Woodbury and Wolfeboro. He was a member and past Master of King Solomon’s Lodge in Woodbury, treasurer of Woodbury Lions Club, a member of the Republican Town Committee, and served on many town committees and boards including Charter Revision, Water Study, School Building, Zoning Appeals and others. He was a Justice of the Peace and a deacon of the North Congregational Church. In Wolfeboro he volunteered for many years at Huggins Hospital where his insurance skills helped many patients to decipher the riddles of modern Medicare and health insurance. Jack loved to play golf and bridge. He and his wife spent many years doing just that. He enjoyed his membership at Kingswood Golf Club and many years of bridge play with his Tuesday and Thursday groups. He was an avid reader and solver of great word puzzles while sharing the same chair with Buddy, his cat and companion. In his younger years he enjoyed fishing and boating with his family on Lake Winnipesaukee and on Five Mile River in Rowayton, CT where his parents and grandmother lived. Jack and Betty-Ann enjoyed the many trips they took in retirement both in the US and abroad, and which continued until her illness prevented further travel. His loving and devoted care for his wife helped sustain her until her passing. He is survived by son and daughter-in-law John L. and Sheila Pinkney of E. Dummerston, VT; daughter Cindy Pinkney Canavan of Liberty, ME; grandchildren Amber and husband Judd Laghi, and great grandchild Juliet of Orange, CT; Jaimie L. Canavan of Montville, ME; Matthew L. Charles of Chicago, IL; his brother and sister-in-law William “Pete” and Lois Pinkney of N. Granby, CT; his sister-in-law Thalia Harrell of Oak Harbor, WA; and many nieces and nephews; pre-deceased by his sister Anne Cowles Pinkney of Waldoboro, ME. He is also survived by his nephew R. Jeffery Roberts of N. Andover, MA who he helped to raise and considered as a son, Jeff’s wife Barbara Hyle, and exchange student Mireille Arnoux and husband Daniel Audiffren of Lyons, France, who became part of the family and whom he regarded as his French daughter. A memorial service will be held in Wolfeboro, NH in late Spring. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Lakes Region Humane Society.