Nancy Pinkham

Nancy Pinkham
May 6, 2021
Osprey, Florida - Nancy Pinkham, age 68 of Osprey, Florida passed away at her home on May 6, 2021, with her daughter Jamie and husband Chris at her side. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jimmie and Frances Torrey. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Chris Pinkham, her daughter, Jamie (Kaya) Aygen, her sisters Andria and Donna, her brother, Fritz, and her granddaughters, Maya and Keira.
Growing up, Nancy spent several weeks each summer with her grandparents in north-central Missouri. It was there she learned to sew and garden from her maternal grandmother, activities she continued throughout her life. Nancy developed quite a green thumb. Her flower garden, visible on a busy street in Prairie Village, Ks., was something to behold. One day the president of a local gardening club stopped to invite her to join, and on another occasion a woman who drove by frequently knocked on Nancy's door to let her know how much she had enjoyed looking at Nancy's garden over the years.
Nancy learned to fish on the farm ponds of her grandparents. She loved to fish so much, one of her law school friends introduced her to Chris, because he loved to fish, too. They were married less than a year later and spent countless hours fishing together all over the country, every chance they could.
Nancy tied for valedictorian of her class at Turner HS. In addition to excelling academically, she also enjoyed cheering, volleyball, and acting in the senior play.
After high school Nancy married her high school sweetheart and they were blessed with a daughter, Jamie. Later, as a single parent with a three year-old, Nancy began the pursuit of her undergraduate degree at Washburn University, and to no one's surprise, tested out of the first two years of college. Then, she went on to obtain her law degree from UMKC School of Law.
Nancy served a term as President of the Kansas City Women's Chamber of Commerce. Her legal career included time at the law firms Gage and Tucker, and Shook, Hardy and Bacon. She practiced corporate law at Western Auto, Sprint, and Applebees, before accepting a position with Darden Restaurants in 2011. Nancy loved working at Darden, and wished she'd had the opportunity to spend more of her career there. The decision to work at the Darden headquarters in Orlando was an easy one because it gave her the opportunity to be within two hours of her daughter Jamie and her granddaughters.
In addition to her great sense of humor, Nancy had a keen eye for fashion. On the day she announced her retirement from Darden, a young woman roughly half her age who Nancy had never met came up to her and exclaimed: "How are we going to know what's in fashion if you're not here to show us?"
Nancy loved to travel and made it to many of the fifty states. She was partial to Colorado and Arizona, where she camped, fished, took multi-day whitewater raft trips, hiked, played golf, and snow skied. After checking Mexico and a number of Caribbean Islands off her list, she advanced on Europe, visiting Germany, Austria, and Denmark. Once, after almost two weeks in China, she spent four days traveling in Tibet, making it to base camp at the foot of Mt. Everest.
One of Nancy's greatest disappointments was her inability to attend so many of Jamie's school-related activities over the years due to the demands of working and school. A unifying thread throughout Nancy's adult life was to do everything possible to be there for Jamie, and to make her life easier as she became a mother. Of course, it was Nancy's dream to be a grandmother, and thankfully, her dream came true. So fond of their grandmother Mimi were Jamie's daughters Maya and Kiera, their joy touched everyone in their vicinity. They were truly the light of Nancy's life.
As with everything else she did in her life and career, Nancy brought the same strength of character, dignity, and grace to her three and a half year battle with pancreatic cancer. Ever composed, she never complained, even when the pandemic drastically limited her opportunities to be with her girls. Despite it all she maintained a great attitude, fighting to the end, making every moment count. Words are insufficient to adequately convey the sense of loss those of us close to Nancy feel.
Nancy requested that there be no formal funeral service. A celebration of her life will be held in Kansas City, KS this fall.
In lieu of flowers, Nancy requests that you donate to:
Moffitt Cancer Center Foundation
PO Box 23827
Tampa, FL 33623-3827
Or, donate online: https://give.moffitt.org/site/Donation2?1722.donation=form1&df_id=1722&mfc_pref=T