Obituary of Michael Bradford Pinkey

Author, master musician, cartoonist, photographer, actor, humorist — bringing kind moments to so many, from store clerks to strangers on the street, young and old ("Everyone's just trying to have a nice day," he said more than once) — Michael B. Pinkey embodied creativity and inspiration in incalculably many ways, during good times and bad, and as such his accomplishments defy summary.

He was born February 20, 1952, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Colonel Vernon Wyatt Pinkey and Annette Elliott Pinkey, and spent his formative years continually moving around, including some time in Europe. He was already respected as a musician in high school, playing in several bands and writing original songs. Graduating from Sand Springs, he served a term in the U.S. Marine Corps in the 1970s, including time at Cherry Point as a base news reporter, photographer and editor, where his column "Pinkey's Point" attracted a fair amount of attention. This column was surely influenced by H. Allen Smith, a favorite humorist of his, with whom he once spent a pleasant visit in Alpine, Texas.

Following his years in the service, Pinkey began to independently study swing music, developing an original style of piano playing which rose to perhaps the highest standard; this is captured in his album "Piano Land", among other recordings. He played for many, in and out of Tulsa, and composed and recorded numerous wonderful songs (these recordings were often facilitated by lifelong friend William Burr).  Pinkey's unique literary style takes center stage in his first novel, "Stray Not Beyond", and in his second book, "Toward an Open Window". His major writing effort in recent years was completing his longest novel, "Lost Among Shadows", to be published in 2019.

Sharing many years and fun hours with his wife, Anne; son, Jonathan; family (his siblings being Brian, Matthew, Meg, and Henry); friends; and cats and dogs, he did not fail to live life on his own terms, and this perhaps remains the case.

Military honors will be performed at Fort Gibson National Cemetery on Friday, February 1, at 2:00 P.M.

Ninde Brookside, 918.742.5556, ninde.com