Posted on 11/20/2017
John Alfred Tinkham, 90, of Virginia Beach, passed away on November 12, 2017. He was born in Massachusetts, the son of the late Mildred and Alfred Tinkham. He was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Marilynn West Tinkham, and his sister, Barbara Conant. He is survived by his daughter, Nancy Tinkham; her husband, Darren Provine; his three grandchildren, Carolyn, Emily, and Luke Tinkham Provine; and his brother, Donald Tinkham.
He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1949 and served in the Navy for 20 years. After retiring from the Navy, he wanted to study peaceful ways of crafting a just society, so he returned to school to study political science, earning a master's degree from the College of William and Mary and a doctorate from the Catholic University of America, and he became a political science professor, teaching both in the United States and for the Navy overseas.
Visitation for John will be held on Saturday, November 18, 2017, at Altmeyer Funeral Home (5792 Greenwich Rd. Virginia Beach, Virginia) from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM. The funeral will be held at 2:00 p.m., at Talbot Park Baptist Church, 6919 Granby Street, Norfolk, Virginia.
The burial will follow in Forest Lawn Cemetery. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.altmeyerfh.com.
Published in The Virginian Pilot on Nov. 17, 2017