Kay I. Pinkham

Born in Wilmington, North Carolina on March 28, 1943, she was the daughter of Kay Thurman and Raymond Smith Pinkham Jr. formerly of Foxboro, Massachusetts. She graduated from Foxboro High School and Lasell College, now Lasell University.

Following college, Kay spent 13 years in the emerging telecommunications industry, prior to her establishment as President and CEO of Northern Telecommunications, Inc. in 1977, a Maine-based, private interconnect telephone company. In 1979, she received a national award, presented by Astronaut James Lovell, for her contributions to the industry.

After years of telecommunications consulting and small business development, in 1990, Kay was appointed Executive Director of the Maine Dental Association before accepting the position of Executive Director of the Maine Nurses Association in 1993. In 1996, she relocated to Albuquerque, New Mexico as the Director of the New Mexico Nurses Association where she also acted as co-chair of Health Action New Mexico and Training Coordinator, HMO Issues for the New Mexico AARP.

During her tenure with the Maine and New Mexico Nurses Associations, she was published in several professional journals and was a guest lecturer at the University of New Mexico, the University of Phoenix, University of Southern Maine and Legislative Conferences in Washington DC at the American Nurses Association.

Throughout her career, she was an active volunteer and member of many organizations including the Androscoggin Head Start Board of Directors, Volunteers of America, The American Society of Association Executives, The Society of Telecommunications Consultants and the Leadership Council of the AARP. She was recognized by Who’s Who in International Professionals and as Public Policy Commission/Mentor of the Year by the Women’s Business Development Center.

Following her retirement in 1998, Kay became a New England Area Coordinator and advocate for Compassion International and was an advisory board member of the Lewiston Root Cellar and a Deaconess and Chair of Missions at South Lewiston Baptist Church. In her later years, her passion was ministry to women at Androscoggin County Jail.

In addition to her two daughters, her greatest joys in life were studying the Bible, cooking, gardening, crocheting and spending time with her precious sisters in Christ.

Survivors include her two daughters, Nancy Kathryn Gomes, her husband, Jarod Kohr, of Franklin Massachusetts; Heatheranne Charlton of Portland; a sister, Nancy Susan Rowbotham of Cape Elizabeth; and a grandson, Andrew K. Charlton. She is also survived by a niece and nephews. She was predeceased by a daughter, Lisa Elizabeth, in 1970, her mother Kay Thurman Pinkham in 1995, her father, Raymond S. Pinkham Jr in 1998, and her beloved grandmothers, Elva Mary Franklin Thurman, in 1978 and Amelia Martin Brandt, in 1961.

Donations in Kay’s memory may be made to The South Lewiston Baptist Church Missions PO Box 2311 Lewiston, Maine 04240.