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John Pinkney, 90, Former Rowayton Resident

ROWAYTON, Conn. -- John E. "Jack" Pinkey, a former resident of Rowayton, died Thursday, Jan. 26, at his home in Tuftonboro, N.H. He was 90.

John E. "Jack" Pinkey, a former resident of Rowayton, died Thursday, Jan. 26. His family's homestead in Norwalk is now home to the Rowayton Historical Society in Pinkney Park.

John E. "Jack" Pinkey, a former resident of Rowayton, died Thursday, Jan. 26. His family's homestead in Norwalk is now home to the Rowayton Historical Society in Pinkney Park.

Photo Credit: Contributed

Pinkney was a longtime resident of Woodbury and summer resident of Melvin Village, N.H., before retiring to Tuftonboro in 1994. 

His family homestead in Rowayton is now home to Pinkney Park and the Rowayton Historical Society. 

He was born in Greenwich on Jan. 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 the U.S. Army during World War II and was stationed at Fort Devens, Mass., before his discharge in 1946 and his return to MIT. 

Jack and his wife Elizabeth-Ann “Betty-Ann” Higgins were happily married for 63 years until her death in 2012.

After living in Rowayton after their July 1948 wedding, they settled in Woodbury, where they raised their family. 

He was an insurance professional who worked for various companies before becoming a partner in the independent Woodbury Insurance Agency. He retired in 1989. 

His served as president of the 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. 

He 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. 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. 

He and his wife loved to play golf and bridge. 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 word puzzles. 

He enjoyed fishing and boating on Lake Winnipesaukee and on Five Mile River in Rowayton, where his parents and grandmother lived. 

He is survived by son and daughter-in-law John L. and Sheila Pinkney of E. Dummerston, Vt.; daughter Cindy Pinkney Canavan of Liberty, Maine; grandchildren Amber and husband Judd Laghi and their daughter Juliet of Orange, Jaimie L. Canavan of Montville, Maine, and Matthew L. Charles of Chicago; brother and sister-in-law William “Pete” and Lois Pinkney of North Granby; sister-in-law Thalia Harrell of Oak Harbor, Wash.; and many nieces and nephews. 

He is also survived by his nephew R. Jeffery Roberts of N. Andover, Mass., who he helped to raise and considered a son, and his 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.

In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his sister Anne Cowles Pinkney.  

A memorial service will be held in Wolfeboro, N.H., in late spring. 

Memorial contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Lakes Region Humane Society.

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