Dr. Paul Jan Pinckney died on August 29, 2024 in Knoxville, Tennessee surrounded by his loving family. A husband, father, grandfather, professor, student advisor, traveler, avid reader and theater goer, party giver and, once upon a time, enthusiastic golfer and poker player, Paul was born on September 12, 1932 in Jacksonville, Texas to the late Lou Myrtis Vining and Clinton Pinckney. He grew up in Texas, Louisiana and Florida (somehow not having any sort of Southern accent at all) and was very close to his maternal grandmother Nonie (Alice Martin Vining). Paul’s brother Ben was born 14 months after he was with cerebral palsy. His stepfather, Dexter Phillips, was a caring father figure to both boys and his son, Bill, Paul and Ben formed a special bond. Their mother, a writer, wrote a story for Ladies’ Home Journal about the family’s ongoing efforts to help Ben fulfill his potential—they were successful as Ben graduated with honors and fifth in his class of 284 from Plant High School in Tampa, Florida.
After graduating from Plant High School, Paul received his bachelor’s degree in history with Honors from Davidson College in 1954, where he was Phi Beta Kappa and a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. After serving two years as an infantry lieutenant in the United States Army, Paul went on to Vanderbilt University to earn a master’s degree in 1959 and a Ph.D. in 1962. His dissertation topic was “The Cromwellian Parliament of 1656.” Paul spent 1959-1960 in Manchester, England on a Fulbright Scholarship where he made lifelong friends who visited each other across the pond many times over the years.
He and Margaret Hume Callis met at Vanderbilt, were married in September 1961, and then moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina for Paul’s first teaching position at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where two of their three children were born. Dr. Pinckney was a popular history professor at UNC, winning an Outstanding Teacher Award in 1967 and enjoying many Phi Delta Theta faculty teas. While living in Chapel Hill, Paul and Margaret began an annual weekly trip to Holden Beach, North Carolina, a family tradition that continued for almost 50 years. In 1969, Paul and Margaret moved for the last time to Knoxville to accept a position at the University of Tennessee.
Dr. Pinckney became a fixture in the history department at U.T. and one of the most beloved professors to walk its hills. It was rare for one of his children to introduce themselves anywhere in Knoxville and not hear “Oh, you’re Dr. Pinckney’s son/daughter!” Dr. Pinckney regularly taught and worked with College Scholars and University Honors students in his 35+ years at the University. Winning the Hessler Award for excellence in teaching and service to students in 2005 came as no surprise to the countless students he advised and assisted over the years, in part by spending countless hours writing detailed and thoughtful letters of recommendation for them. Prior to that award, Dr. Pinckney was awarded Outstanding Teaching Awards in 1977 and 1989, an Outstanding Advisor Award in 1995 and a Chancellor’s Citation for Extraordinary Service to the University in 1997. A rare breed of professor who cared more about the success of his students than publishing his own works (though he did that, too), Dr. Pinckney truly changed many lives.
Paul sang tenor in the choir at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral for more than 40 years, making many dear friends and bringing joy to others with his renditions of O Holy Night and We Three Kings of Orient Are. Paul, with Margaret, hosted many dinner parties, Easter egg hunts and, most famously (or infamously, as the case may be), the annual student party. At such parties and dinners, one may have been lucky enough to catch him singing Danny Boy with his own special lyrics because he found the original ones too sad. Paul enjoyed attending theater events of all kinds, and he and Margaret went to many plays and musicals in Knoxville and London, instilling a love of the same in their children. Though not originally a UT sports fan, Paul and Margaret learned to love the Vols and attended many football and basketball games over the years. Paul likely helped save the academic careers of many football players by warning them in time to drop his class before the deadline!
Given his dissertation topic and teaching focus, Paul had a love of all things British, shared by Margaret, and they traveled together many times to the United Kingdom and Europe, often in connection with Paul’s teaching and researching. For instance, he started a summer school course titled “History of London” where he took groups of students to London for miles of walking and lots of history and life lessons (and introduced multiple couples who remain married today, including his oldest daughter and son-in-law). He also pioneered the UT Semester in Wales at the University of Swansea, leading it four times between 1988 and 1995, with his youngest daughter taking advantage of the program in the fall of 1991. His children very much appreciate the travel opportunities they were given due to this shared love by their parents. Paul enjoyed cats and had many of them over the years, none as much loved as the original Adam Smith, Adam Smith V and Lady Jane.
Paul’s family would like to thank the many caregivers he has had the past five years: the staff at Atria Weston Place, particularly Jeff; the staff at Shannondale, particularly Cede, Virginia and Adam; and the nurses with Gentiva Hospice.
Paul is preceded in death by his beloved Lady Margaret, wife of 58 years, his brother and stepbrother, and most of his immediate relatives born before or shortly after him. Paul is survived by son David (Susan Roberts), daughters Mary (Brian Wahl) and Alice (Gary Adams) and seven grandchildren, Bennett, Calli (Chris Smith), Maggie (Grant Rucker), Lauren, Hudson, Rush and Emma, as well as friend and cousin Mark Bennett Murray.
In honor of Paul, donations may be made to The University of Tennessee’s Paul J. Pinckney Scholarship Fund or the Young Williams animal shelter.
A private burial service at the East Tennessee State Veteran’s Cemetery will be held on September 16 and a celebration of Paul’s life will be held at St. John’s Cathedral at a later date to be announced by the family.