John B. Tingley

TINGLEY John B. Tingley, 81, passed away on Thursday, November 3, 2011, at home with his family following a brief illness. Born in Columbus, Ohio on December 7, 1929, the son of Herman and Treva Tingley, and older brother of Nancy Tingley Hock. He attended North High School prior to his family's move to Westerville where he starred as a touchdown-scoring, pre-facemask, fullback on the Westerville High School football team his junior year. Despite breaking his jaw during his senior season, which by the way didn't prevent his election to senior class president, Woody Hayes, then the football coach at Denison University, sent Dad a recruiting letter for the team. However, recognizing that Woody was probably looking for "cannon fodder", Dad declined the invitation although he did attend the University. At Denison, Dad joined the Kappa Sigma fraternity and graduated in 1951. Following in his father's footsteps, he enrolled in The Ohio State University School of Law where he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity and from which he graduated in 1954. Fortunately for us, his sister was also attending OSU at this time and introduced him on a blind date to her Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority sister, and our future mother, Jean Ann McQuilkin of Worthington, Ohio and Orchard Island, Ohio. Thinking he had "struck it rich" with a woman "of means" as signified by the dual residences, Dad quickly fell in love with Jean only to find out that her Orchard Island residence was really a summer cottage built by her mother and father at Indian Lake during the Great Depression, albeit a cottage that would bring many, many years of story-telling, poker games, Jarts, canoeing and inner-tube wars to the family in years to come. After graduating with his law degree, Dad passed the State of Ohio Bar Exam on his first try only to be called up by the Army to serve in Germany. Not one to miss an opportunity when it was staring him in the face, Dad's inner voice sounded the "wanderlust" urge that could be scratched but never satisfied throughout his life. Lucky to be of a rank and position that allowed him to write his own orders, Dad toured Europe in the years when many European countries were still rebuilding after World War II. Finding his other lifelong passion - and appetite - in the local food and wine, Dad drove throughout Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy in search of the next wonderful meal while always being careful to get back to his Army base on time. With an honorable discharge in hand and ready to begin his law career, Dad returned to Columbus and married Jean on December 15, 1956. Their marriage was filled with love, friendship, joie de vie, gardening, shared cooking of remarkable meals, and laughter and conversation for a fulfilling 51 years until Mom's death in 2008. Sons Tom, Paul, Brian and David rounded out a full household. Dad's law career built from a start with his father into a law firm that would become today's Kegler Brown Hill & Ritter, which he gratefully remained associated with until the end of his life. The practice of law was the cornerstone of Dad's professional life from which he made and cherished many of his lifelong friendships, and allowed him to practice the mental discipline and propriety that he relished. Professionally, he also valued his associations with the Columbus Junior Chamber of Commerce (past President), Vinton County Community Camp (past President and Lifetime Achievement Award), Symposiarchs (past President of Alpha Chapter), the Kentucky "Colonels" (as commissioned by Kentucky's governor in 1996), and in particular, The Athletic Club of Columbus and The Columbus Club. His many friends will remember Dad (and Mom) as warm, gracious dinner hosts at "Chez Tingley", an inveterate traveler with nonpareil research and personal experiences available to any who asked, a true gentleman and friend, and one for whom "the world is my oyster" was an apt view of life. For his family, Dad is remembered for his unqualified love and support, the family dinners that spanned hours and which were filled with good food and good conversation, his opening our eyes to the beauty of the "Country" and the great outdoors, his devotion to our mother, his smile, and his insistence that the kitchen door always be closed and "elbows off the table." In addition to his sister and sons, he leaves behind his daughters-in-law, Lisa, Brett and Pam; four granddaughters, Michelle, Ava, Cassie and Amelia; two grandsons, Jack and Cole; his niece, Diane; and nephews Hud, Steve and Daniel. Memorial Service on Friday, November 25, 2011 at 6 p.m. at King Avenue United Methodist Church, 299 King Avenue, Columbus, Ohio. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to King Avenue United Methodist Church, HomeReach Hospice or The Aplastic Anemia and MDS International Foundation. Arrangements completed by WEIR-AREND FUNERAL HOME, 614-268-3593.