John Dylan Pinegar

Born December 9, 1970 in New Britain, CT, John lived in nearby Plainville until his family moved to Saudi Arabia in 1982, and then returned to Plainville for his last two years of high school. The friendships he forged during his school years in both Plainville and Dhahran, endured and strengthened during the decades that followed. As a young adult, John moved to Denver where he lived for more than 25 years among a loving community of friends, both old and new.

John was an avid outdoorsman and adventurer; he regularly enjoyed skiing, biking, SCUBA diving, and camping. John was born a stoic and embraced that philosophy fully during the last decade of his life. He lived his life with great intention, purpose, and responsibility. He was kind and ethical, funny and fun-loving. He was a minimalist and an appreciator of beauty-in music, art, and, above all, the natural world, both on land and in the sea. He was a talented photographer and artist but was often more interested in being in the moment than documenting it.

As testament to the quality of his living and loving, when it became clear that he did not have much time left, his friends boarded planes from places across this country and others, joining his Denver community to spend his last week with him, sharing stories, laughing, or sitting quietly while he slept. The various communities embraced each other, while John eschewed pain medication so he could be "fully present" for goodbyes that honored his life well lived. His family was comforted and cared for by the remarkable collective of friends bonded deeply enough with John to be called family, too.

John died January 13, 2024 of complications related to pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his mother, Pit Pinegar, his father Donald E. Pinegar, his stepmother, Carole Dicker, his sisters, Bethany Pinegar and Amanda Pinegar, his brother, Matthew Dicker, his brother-in-law Giovanni Botta, and his nieces Nima and Hopper; as well as a large extended family of friends and their children, many of whom he'd known since their births.

His family is grateful for the sensitive care and many kindnesses of the nurses and doctors who supported John through his illness; his final two weeks at Lutheran Medical Center and Collier/Intermountain Health Hospice were marked, too, by overwhelming kindness to John, his family and his family of friends.

In lieu of flowers, if you wish to honor John's memory, please consider making a donation of time or money in his name to an organization or activity that makes the world a kinder, more inclusive place.

Celebrations of John's life will take place later in the year.

John Dylan Pinegar... Beloved and loving son, brother, uncle, friend.

(December 9, 1970 - January 13, 2024)

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Powder

(a haiku for John)

by Tonya Meeks

I think there must be

Love, snow and adventure there.

Why else would you go?