Llewellyn Albert "Al" Pingree

Llewellyn A. Pingree, known to his friends as "Al", passed away early Sunday morning February 16, 2020 in the company of long-time dear friend Jennifer Rod and beloved dog "Elise" at Bishop Place Enhanced-Memory Care Villas in Pullman, WA. He died from age-related causes under the care of Kindred Hospice at the age of 88.

Born December 26, 1931, Albert Leroy Pinkham (legal birth name) grew up and attended various public schools in California, sometimes living away from his divorced parents and staying with other relatives and friends while making his way through school.  His stepfather (who had shot Al's dog for "misbehaving") told him when he was out of the eighth grade that would be it as far as school goes. But Al loved school, wanted more, and ran away from home.

Fibbing about his age (being well under legal age), he enlisted in the Navy where he spent much of his time as a ship radio operator.  He was involved in the 1949 "Yangtze Incident" as a radioman dispatched to help the HMS London, one of four British Frigates under Communist forces artillery attack on the Yangtze River during the Chinese civil war.  After serving in the Navy, he transferred into the U.S. Marine Corps.  While serving in the Korean conflict, he was captured by the North Koreans and transferred to a prison camp in Mukden (northeastern China) where he was held captive for nearly two years.

Post-military service and after release from prison camp, he earned his GED, worked at several jobs, started night school on the GI Bill at Stanford University (studied law) and worked days in stock investing/financial advising.  He became an avid fisherman and owned his own fishing boat.  He hung out with "beat" friends…. we can just imagine Al among the first Beatniks in the Bay area scene! He married once but later divorced.

Although Al was not raised in a religious home, he eventually gravitated to, and became a member of the Jewish faith while still in California.  Through the years, he accumulated a large collection of books pertaining to the Jewish faith and Jewish culture.

He migrated from his home state of California to Idaho in the early 1970's along with his young son Charles "Charlie".  Al rode his motorcycle all the way from Nevada to north central Idaho with little Charlie seated just in front of him on a saddle that Al had crafted himself from heavy canvas.

Upon his move to Idaho he worked as a Volkswagen mechanic for a couple local dealerships in Lewiston and Moscow.  In 1976 he was hired by Washington State University as an electronics technician and worked his way up to supervisor of the Building Engineer and Electronics shop. He specialized in the installation and maintenance of fire safety and alarm systems.  He rode his bicycle for his daily commute from Moscow to Pullman rain or shine, and only got nipped by cars twice (all of this much before the highway was improved with paved shoulders and two lanes each direction). He retired from WSU in 1994.

In addition to job commuting, his bicycling extended to annual participation in races for several years, like the STP (Seattle-to-Portland) and the old Lewiston Grade races. Moreover, not only did he ride bicycles and motorcycles, he built, modified, and repaired bikes for himself and friends. And with motorcycling, he did most of his own (and some for friends) troubleshooting, maintenance and repair. He was the go-to BMW guy. He owned several models of BMW's bikes along with an "all weather" Russian-made Ural sidecar model), and was an inspiration to friends who were looking for an excuse or permission to own more than one motorcycle at a time. He logged many thousands of miles in the saddle of his motorcycles whether alone or with friends, including his four-legged furry friends. National and regional BMW rallies and annual local rides accounted for many of those miles. In August 2007, he even let a couple of his Moscow friends convince him to tag along with them to Sturgis, SD for the annual "Black Hills Motorcycle Classic Rally & Races".

Al was a man of many interests, passions and coffee devices! A voracious reader, he collected books reflecting his broad interests from religion to repair manuals, cooking to classics, poetry to plants. If he wasn't knowledgeable about something, he would to look it up, read about it and then dive right in.  He was a pretty serious amateur photographer, possessing cameras, equipment, volumes of books and periodicals about photography, He even set up a darkroom utilizing a small bedroom closet in his home.

He collected anything mechanical including firearms (handguns, rifles, and various black powder rifles); He puttered with internal combustion engines, electric motors and electric controls of all kinds. He absolutely loved to engage in discussions about mechanical and electrical gizmos of all sorts. Many long (and sometimes fairly heated) discussions and arguments have been held with friends over countless cups of coffee and bottles of beer!

Al enjoyed helping others. The Moscow community was his family. He would be the first person to drop what he was doing to help a friend with a problem, most often related to something mechanical (but not always). In 1974, as a single parent, Al facilitated the beginnings of a parent toddler Co-op, providing transportation and paying for the kids' Friday activities. He served on the Moscow Food Coop board of directors April 1999 to March 2006 which included a term as Treasurer.

Notwithstanding his occasional grumpy and argumentative demeanor, Al will be remembered as a kind, considerate, compassionate and caring friend to many people, never failing to inquire about their families, kids, and other loved ones.  One close friend relayed how she was always struck by how much Al loved kids and helping them learn; whether related to scout projects, bicycles, educational games, etc. Kids brought out the "kid" in Al.

Al was a Moscow resident for almost 50 years before moving to Bishop Place Assisted Living in May 2018.  He was preceded in death by his precious son Charles "Charlie" Pingree who was killed in a tragic automobile crash in 1981 at the age of 14.  He is survived by two daughters: Renee Pinkham and Marsha Metzler, both of Sacramento, CA.

Almost without fail, whenever Al and a friend(s) would part company for the day or evening, the last word he always uttered was "peace!"   Not goodbye, bye, later, see 'ya later, s' long, good night, etc.…but just "Peace".

So, from all of us to you, Dear Friend: PEACE!

Arrangements have been entrusted to Kimball Funeral Home of Pullman.

While no formal service is planned, close friends and acquaintances of Al will gather in the future to share a meal, memories of happy times, stories, and laughter.  Contributions in Al's memory can be made to: Humane Society of the Palouse (https://www.humanesocietyofthepalouse.org/); Northwest Public Broadcasting

(https://www.nwpb.org/support/radio/) or Weekend Food For Kids (send checks to UUCP/WFFK, P.O. Box 9342, Moscow, ID 83843 and write Al Pingree Memorial in the memo line).   WFFK provides backpacks with food for children from food-insecure Moscow households during summer months.