Margaret Pinkstaff

Margaret Joleen Pinkstaff, known to all as Jo, passed away on April 26th, 2015 with her husband and daughter by her side. Born on April 24, 1931 in Hammond Indiana, she spent most of her young days in Bridgeport, Illinois. After meeting Jimmy Dee Pinkstaff on a group date in late December of 1950, they were married barely 3 months later on February 19th, 1951 in Lubbock, Texas, and over the next 64 years, they never spent an anniversary apart. Their daughter, Toni Lee Pinkstaff (Smith) joined them in 1955 and thanks to the United State Air Force, Jo and Jim spent years in the Canal Zone, Okinawa and 3 separate tours in Colorado, stationed at the United States Air Force Academy. In 1979, they settled in Aurora, Colorado and were soon followed by their daughter and her family. Jim taught Air Force JROTC for the next 13 years at Aurora Central High School and Jo became "Mom" to many of the students who remained close to her and "Chief" as they grew up and started their own careers and families.

The "best ever wife" to Jim, a "loving mother" to Toni, and an "incomparable grandmother" to Sarah and Andrew, Jo touched lives everywhere she went, from making new friends at the fabric shop and commissary, to always taking goodies up to the nurses and doctors she grew to know so well. Her smile and laugh were contagious and will be remembered by all who knew her, including a niece, nephews and extended friends and family all over the country.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Mary Lewis; her brother, Charles Bell; her sister, Dortha (Dotty) McArthur and most recently, her grandson, Andrew David Smith. She is survived by her husband, Jimmy Dee Pinkstaff; daughter and son-in-law Toni Lee Pinkstaff-Smith and Bill Smith; and granddaughter Sarah Elizabeth Gleason.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Air Force Aid Society (www.afas.org) or the Denver Dumb Friends League (www.ddfl.org)