Wendall Tinkham Jr. ⁵⁰⁶⁶

The Sun Journal
Lewiston, Maine
March 23, 2007
p. A4

Wendall B. Tinkham, Jr.
1923-2007

AUBURN - Wendall B. Tinkham, Jr. (Bill), 83, of 19 Sunset Court, Auburn, died on Wednesday, March 21, at The Hospice House of Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice, with his family at his side.

Born in Monmouth, July 1, 1923, the youngest son of Wendall B. and Eva Belle G. (Maxwell) Tinkham, he was raised by his grandfather and grandmother Maxwell at the request of his mother shortly before her untimely death, when he was just 8 months old. He attended schools in Wales, Lewiston and Auburn and received his G.E.D. following his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army, where he studied automotive technology under the G.I. Bill of Rights.

He was a proud veteran of World War II, having been inducted into the Army in January 1943, and discharged in March 1946. He served in the China Burma India Theater of the war as a sergeant in the Signal Corps. He was employed in the automotive industry in the Lewiston and Auburn area until his retirement in June 1985, due to ill health.

He was married Oct. 18, 1947, to Geraldine C. Clark, of Mechanic Falls, and together they celebrated 59 years of happy marriage. He was a member of the Auburn United Methodist Church, Tripp Lake Improvement Association, and Androscoggin Retired Teachers Association. He was a longtime corporator of the Auburn Public Library. He cared deeply about his family and friends, spending much time helping them and volunteering at his church. In 1994, he was awarded special mission recognition from The United Methodist Woman. In the pioneering years of the Auburn Suburban Little League, he actively participated in building of the baseball fields at the Lewiston-Auburn Airport, and coached Stevens Mill Grange team for several years. He was an enthusiastic Red Sox fan and enjoyed gardening and coin collecting. His greatest joy was his family, including his mother-in-law, Inez Clark, who lived with the family for 18 years.

He is survived by his wife of Auburn; a son, William and his wife, Celine, of Jackson, N.H.; a daughter, Heidi and her husband, Peter Pacetti of Falmouth; four grandchildren, Emily and Maxwell Pacetti, and Mallory and Lucas Tinkham; one brother, Melvin and his wife, Grace, of Wales; one sister, Thelma Newton, of Manchester; and many nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by a brother, Eugene Tinkham; and his sister-in-law, Phyllis Tinkham.

TINKHAM - Wendall B., Jr., 83, of Auburn, died on March 21. Visitation at Fortin/Auburn on Friday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Funeral held at the United Methodist Church on Saturday at 1 p.m. Committal at Gracelawn Memorial Park. Family and friends are invited to visit www.mem.com to pay tribute to his life. Those wishing to make donations in his memory may do so to the Hospice House of Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice, 236 Stetson Road, Auburn, ME, 04210, or American Heart Association, 51 U.S. Rte. 1, Suite M., Scarborough, ME 04074. A service of the Fortin Group Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 219 Turner Street, Auburn, 783-8545.

  Events

• He appeared on the census in 1930 in Wales, Androscoggin County, Maine. He and his brothers were lodgers in the home of Minnie Boyce.

• He appeared on the census in 1940 in Wales, Androscoggin County, Maine. He lived in the household of his maternal grandparents.

• An intent to marry was published in the Portland Press Herald 28 June 1947 in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine.

Wendall married Living