David Wylie Pinkham, 74, of Stanwood, Wash., passed away with his family by his side on July 30, 2021, after living with Parkinson’s disease for several years. He was a loving husband to Pam for 47 years and a devoted father to sons Michael and Andrew.
Born in Seattle, he attended Garfield High School (class of 1964), Whitman College (class of 1968), Howard University (college semester exchange to broaden his perspective and understanding of people), and the Goethe-Institut in Germany. He earned a master’s degree in modern European history from Columbia University in New York in 1970. Dave was thoughtful, diplomatic, sincere and generous about giving people the benefit of the doubt. He cared deeply about civic issues that affected people’s lives, and he was passionate about defending justice and equal rights for all people. As an independent thinker, he valued honesty, integrity and authenticity. He listened to both sides of an issue and took a balanced approach. He stayed true to these values in all the work of his life, both professional and personal. Dave had a lifelong love of history and writing. He committed 40 years of his professional life to newspapers. He reported local news in Long Island, N.Y., San Juan County, Wash., Island County, Wash., and finally the Stanwood/Camano community when he became publisher and owner of the Stanwood/Camano News in 1985. He led an outstanding and dedicated team of people that brought the news to the Stanwood/Camano community for 25 years.
Dave was active with the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association throughout his career. He served as the association’s board president from 2006-07 and served many terms as a board trustee and committee member. He was honored with the Miles Turnbull Master Editor/Publisher award in 2009. Separately, he also served as an advisor to The Daily, the University of Washington student newspaper. He was a founding member of Stanwood Rotary, and at different times served as president of both Rotary and chamber of commerce. He was also on the boards of the Stanwood Camano Food Bank and Camano Schoolhouse Foundation, was involved in Kiwanis, and was a Little League baseball coach. An Eagle Scout, Dave loved spending time in the woods and the mountains. He shared with his wife and two sons his love of the natural world by taking them on hiking trips into the wilderness areas of the Olympic and Cascade mountains. He loved to share his stories of summitting Mount Rainier, Mount Baker, Mount St. Helens prior to the eruption and other peaks. Birdwatching was a love of his, and he was especially excited to see kingfishers and western grebes. He was an advocate for environmental protection for his entire life.
Dave was an engaged father, playing with his sons and reading books to them every day of their childhoods. When his sons asked a question, his most common response was to pull an encyclopedia off the shelf and read from it during dinner.
Dave is survived by his wife Pam; son Michael (Meng); brother Jim Pinkham (Sue); sister Bev Smith (Jim); brothers-in-law Mike (Jacki) Probach and Gregg (Dianne) Probach; and many cousins, nephews, nieces and friends.
He was predeceased by his son Andrew Pinkham; nephew Ethan Johnson; parents Roland and Mary Pinkham; and parents-in-law Bob and Dorothy Probach.
A memorial service will be held in late August. For details on date, time and location, please send a message to davepinkham.memorial@gmail.com and ask for a link to the private RSVP website, which contains more details about arrangements. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Stanwood Camano Food Bank, Hospice of the Northwest, Stanwood Area Historical Society, Camano Schoolhouse Foundation or BirdNote.
