Obituary

Wallace J Pinson
(April 14, 1929 - September 24, 2010)

WALLACE J PINSON, 81, of Huntington, W.Va., died September 24, 2010. He was born April 14, 1929, in the Black Log community of Inez, Ky., the son of Mack and Laura Jude Pinson. A longtime elder, board chairman and Sunday school superintendent of Vinson Memorial Christian Church, he was a deeply kind man forever steady and faithful to his religion, to his family and to his friends. He was raised on the family farm and later worked as a bus driver in Huntington, where he met his wife of 55 years. After serving on the front lines in the Korean War, Wally returned home and established a water well drilling business, Pinson Brothers Drilling. He was a Kentucky Colonel, an admiral in the Cherry River Navy, president of League 1 youth baseball, the first and only president of the Civil Service Commission of Wayne County, president of the West End Lions Club, president and a founding member of the W.Va. Water Well Drillers Association; he served on the W.Va. Governors Commission for Water Well Drillers, along with various committees for the National Water Well Drillers Association, and he was active in Republican Party politics. He was preceded in death by his parents; his son, Leskie J Pinson; his brothers, Conrad, Robert, Mack, Truman, Edward and Gabriel; and his sisters, Niza Colvin, Helen Watson, Christine Guthrie and Maudie Damron. He is survived by his wife, Sandra Lee Earl Pinson; a daughter, Lisa Pinson Milstead, and her husband Jay of Huntington; their children Jayson Lykins and his wife Megan of Kansas City, Mo., Alexandra Lykins, and Morgan Lykins and her son Parker J, all of Huntington; a daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Pinson and her children Cayley and Turner, all of Greensboro; and two sisters, Nancy Knight of Huntington and Elouise Osborn of Columbus, Ohio, along with many beloved nieces and nephews. A man who worked instead of playing ball as a child, Wally became a passionate fan of Vinson High School and Marshall University sports in his adult years, as he witnessed how much the programs meant to family and friends. He was a giving man, rock solid in his beliefs, always ready to reach out to those who needed him. He loved his grandchildren and great-grandchild dearly, and they loved him. Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 27, 2010 at Reger Funeral Home. Funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2010 at Vinson Memorial Christian Church.