CARROLL, Iowa – William P. Jinks, 90, of Churdan, Iowa, and recently residing in Carroll, Iowa, passed away June 2, 2012. Bill was born Jan. 20, 1922, in Portage Lake, to Thomas and Melvina (Hartford) Jinks.
Bill graduated from high school in East Corinth, in 1939, and enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps Dec. 17, 1941, immediately after Pearl Harbor.
In the rank of second lieutenant he served as navigator bombardier on a B-29 Super Fortress named the Rooster Wagon flying raids over Japan. Bill flew 22 missions during World War II, most notably during the Last Mission of the war, in summer 1945, as part of the 315th VH Bomb Wing. On June 3, 1945, Bill married the love of his life, Mary, in Grand Island, Neb. Bill pursued his education at the University of Maine, Orono, and received a degree in agriculture while at the same time establishing a large Holstein dairy farm on Essex Street, Bangor. Bill taught “on the farm training” to veterans in Bangor and participated in various professional and civic organizations. He was president of Penobscot County Poultry Improvement Association, president of the Maine Holstein-Friesian Association, a member of the Maine Farm Bureau Association and most notably the Junior Chamber of Commerce’s Outstanding Young Farmer in Maine and the U.S. in 1955. He also served on the Zoning Board of Appeals in Bangor.
Bill and Mary raised their family and farmed there for more than 40 years. In 1988 he and Mary relocated to Mary’s home state of Iowa to a farm in Churdan, where they cultivated corn and soybeans for many years.
Bill was predeceased by his sister, Chrystal Kopp; and his brother, Leland Jinks. Bill is survived by his loving wife of 67 years, Mary (Van Skike) of Carroll, Iowa. Bill was most proud of all of his children, Donald of Albuquerque, N.M., Mary and Gary Wilson of Kennebunk, Kathryn and Homer Johnson of Madrid, Iowa, Patricia and Octave Flores of Gansevoort, N.Y.; his grandchildren, Caitlin Oberg, Lucas and Kourtney Johnson, Sarah and Jay Becker, and Heather and Matt Johnston; and his five great-grandchildren, Zachary and Ella Johnston, Adriana and Brady Moon, and William Becker. The family expresses their deepest appreciation and heartfelt thanks to Bill’s medical team at Family Specialty Medical Center and the staff at Swan House, Carroll, Iowa, for their compassionate care.
A memorial service will be held 10:30 a.m. June 13 at Swan House, Carroll, Iowa. An Honor Guard ceremony and interment is planned for noon June 29 at Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Mount Vernon Road, Augusta. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may take the form of donations in Bill’s honor to the charity of one’s choice. Arrangements are under the direction of Sharp Funeral Home, Carroll, Iowa.