Mary Helen (Manley) Pinkham

FARMINGDALE – Mary Helen (Manley) Pinkham passed away on Feb. 26, 2020, at Lakewood Continuing Care in Waterville. She was born on Feb. 11, 1922, in the Mt. Pleasant area of Bath County, Kentucky. Mary was the oldest of five children born to Dewey Lee and Katherine (Lathram) Manley. Mary graduated from Bethel High School (KY) in 1939 as valedictorian of her class. She went on to study Home Economics at the University of Kentucky, receiving a BS degree in 1943. She taught Home Economics at Owingsville High School from 1943-1946 before getting married to Linwood Pinkham of Kingfield, Maine on June 23, 1946. Mary met Linwood when he was stationed in Kentucky during his time in the Army.Her adventures began when she moved to Maine. Mary lived in Randolph for 67 years before moving to the Captain Lewis Residence in Farmingdale in 2017. Linwood and Mary had four children, Dorothy (Pinkham) Monroe, Betty (Pinkham) Turcotte, Edward Pinkham and Mary Jean (Pinkham) Hall. After staying at home for a few years to raise the children, Mary returned to teaching, received her Master’s in Education from Orono in 1966 and taught remedial reading and elementary grades for MSAD # 11 from 1959 – 1978. Even though Linwood said she didn’t have to work, she said she worked for the “extras” in life. They managed to send four children to college, all graduating without debt! Not being the type of person to be idle, after retirement, she started delivering for Meals on Wheels, doing that for 25 years. Mary received the Spirit of America Award in 2002. She was always doing something, knitting, crocheting, quilting, reading books, making jelly, zucchini relish or spending time with family.As a 50 plus year member of the Randolph United Methodist Church, she was active on many committees. Mary spent countless hours at the Randolph United Methodist Church Clothes Closet, helping to benefit local people. The first Saturday of every month found her preparing casseroles for the church suppers and managing the kitchen. Mary was also a member of AARP, the National Education Association and the Maine Retired Teachers Association, the Stanley Museum and the Kingfield Historical Society.She is predeceased by her husband, Linwood Pinkham (1997); daughter, Mary Jean (Pinkham) Hall (1992) and son-in-law, Dana Hall (1997); her parents; a brother Dewey Lee Manley, Jr. and sister, Rebecca Bowman all of Lexington, Ky., brothers-in-law Albert Bowman and Homer Ford of Lexington, Ky., sister-in-law and brother-in –law Priscilla and Henry Bacon of Sidney, Maine Mary is survived by her children Dorothy (Dennis) Monroe of Augusta, Betty (Linwood) Turcotte of Norridgewock, and Edward (Nicola) Pinkham of Lehigh, Fla.; four grandchildren Danielle Turcotte of Norridgewock, Ryan (Wendy)Turcotte of Nashua, N.H., Erin (David) Godfrey of Lewiston, Emily (Ben) Greeley of Brunswick and one step-grandson, Stephen Turcotte of Skowhegan.Surviving great-grandchildren are Hannah, Katelyn, and Abigail Turcotte, Amanda and Katie McCarthy of Nashua, N.H., Mary McCarthy of Littleton, Colo., and Gavin and Charlotte Godfrey of Lewiston. She is also survived by her sister Irene Ford of Frankfort, Ky. and brother Charles (Diana) Manley of South Carolina; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.So much gratitude goes to Kathy, Art and Stacey Forand who looked after our mother when our father passed away in 1997. They treated her like their own mother! We would also like to give a special thanks to Kim Dolley and the wonderful staff at the Captain Lewis (Lorrie, Amber, Hollie, Destiny, Krystal, Alice, Amber and many others) for the wonderful care she received. God bless you! Also thanks go to the doctors, nurses and CNA’s who cared for our mother at Maine General. Her final days were spent at Lakewood Continuing Care in Waterville where the staff and Beacon Hospice were able to make her comfortable. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Randolph United Methodist Church on Saturday, March 14, 2020 at 11 a.m. After the service, there will be a reception in the church fellowship hall. Burial will be at the Maine Veteran’s Cemetery at a later date. Arrangements are by Staples Funeral and Cremation Care, 53 Brunswick Ave., Gardiner, where condolences, memories and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the funeral home at familyfirstfuneralhomes.com
In lieu of flowers,donations may be made to:
Randolph United Methodist Church
16 Asbury St. Randolph, ME 04346 or:
Spectrum Generations
(Meals on Wheels)
One Weston Ct. Suite 109
Augusta, ME 04330

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