Gene Pinkney

Gene Paul Pinkney was born March 21, 1938, in Graceville, MN, to Paul S. Pinkney and Anne (Strobusch) Pinkney. Being a first-day-of-spring baby, instilled in him a love of spring’s rebirth, and an eager anticipation of the annual spring bird migration.

He was raised in Fairmount, ND, but graduated high school in Lebanon, OR, in 1956, where he was thrilled to live with his family for a couple of years before joining the Air Force in 1957. He was stationed in San Antonio for a year, then honorably discharged and returned to Fairmount with his family. Shortly thereafter, he met his future bride, Audrey Walker, in May of 1959, while working the night shift at the Stratford Hotel in Breckenridge, MN, where he had to call the telephone operator to report the whereabouts of the local police. Audrey, working as a telephone operator, playfully responded to the report, which led to their first date, and then another. They were united in Holy Matrimony on July 16, 1961, and two children followed, Lisa (Morrison) and Brett Pinkney.

Gene attended NDSCS and then Moorhead State University and became a H.S. principal in Walcott, ND, then a H.S. teacher in Pillager, MN, before being offered a professorship at NDSCS, where he remained for nearly 40 years, teaching speech, English Literature, American literature, Shakespeare, and poetry from 1965 to 2002.

He was a lively professor and favorite of many students, regaling them with his love of Shakespeare and spontaneous recitations from many poets. Laughter could often be heard emanating from his classrooms.

He was a lifelong fisherman and Bass Master and fished many bass tournaments in the 70s from his boat, the Mud Funk, bringing home many trophies. Like the “Old Man and the Sea,” fishing remained a compelling pursuit until his last prolonged tangle with a huge catfish that weakened him considerably in late June.

He was an avid gardener with 12 large “square foot garden” plots, getting his seeds in as early as possible each spring. He was a bird lover and watcher, and faithfully fed the backyard birds in all seasons with no less than a dozen bird feeders.

Rain, sleet or shine, he could be found taking drives in the country and making outings to the local supermarkets where he loved to bargain shop early every morning and tip anyone who helped him. He was never without a book, newspaper, crossword puzzle, or magazine, while simultaneously channel surfing. Every afternoon at 5 pm, he was a rapt Jeopardy home contestant. He was an enthusiastic Vikings fan and sports lover of every kind, and regularly gleaned insights and daily encouragement from TV ministries.

He was close to the Lord in the beauty of nature and enjoyed fishing the Red after selling their Big Stone Lake cabin and often shared his abundant catches of sunfish, northern, catfish, and bass with local housewives, catching above and beyond what his family could eat.

As a hobby later in life, he wrote weekly inspirational articles for the Daily News. He’d had a regular column, “Where The Wild Thyme Blows,” in the 70s, but this time around, he blended his strong faith with life experiences that many locals enjoyed and commented on when meeting him about town. In a sense, he became a fisher of men through these stirring writings and had only taken time off the month before his passing, intending to resume in September. His articles and poems can be found on the friendlyarts.net website.

Gene is survived by his wife, Audrey, Wahpeton; daughter Lisa Morrison, Wahpeton; son Brett (Lori) Pinkney, Roseville, CA; grandson Nathan (Kelly) Pinkney, San Diego, CA; granddaughter Nicolette (Blair) Orr, Roseville, CA; brother Charles (Denise) Pinkney, Fargo, ND; sister Mary Ellen Parnell, Fargo, ND; sister Edith Lynn (Dean) Klyve, Belle Fourche, SD; and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held at Harvest Outreach Church in north Wahpeton at 1 pm Friday, September 19, 2025, followed by a Celebration of Life at 2:30 pm. Arrangements have been made with Vertin Munson Funeral Home.