Leo Pinckney truly had a ‘Wonderful Life'

On Nov. 20th, my Pop passed away, just one day after his 89th birthday. As sad and as difficult as this period has been, it was through the generosity of the people of Auburn that I have come to realize that Leo Pinckney, like George Bailey, the hero of Frank Capra#'s holiday classic, led a wonderful life.

My Pop lived his life doing what he loved most and he did it in Auburn, exactly where he wanted to be. This strikes me as the ultimate success story. His was a life well-lived and that is something to celebrate.

For close to 60 years, my Pop wrote a Christmas column for this paper. This annual event featured a page full of sports-related “gifts” that my father would bestow upon friends, family, local celebrities, “my friend Herman” as well as some other folks who were, for all intents and purposes, strangers. But that would only be my perspective. My Pop never treated anyone like a stranger. They were all friends, they were all family.