John N. Wrinkle, of Birmingham, Alabama, was born on July 31, 1929, and died on July 20, 2023. He is survived by his wife, the former Louise Rucker Agee, by his daughter Anne Wrinkle Veenstra and her husband David Veenstra, of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and by his daughter Margaret Rucker Wrinkle of Galisteo, New Mexico, and by two grandchildren, John Fulton Veenstra and Anne Dixon Veenstra, also of Santa Fe. His final years and his peaceful passing were blessed by the presence of his dear friend and beloved companion Mr. Terry Rice.
Mr. Wrinkle was the son of the late Anne Ownbey Wrinkle and John Stuart Wrinkle and was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where his father was a well-known lawyer. John was graduated summa cum laude from Vanderbilt University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Kappa Sigma Fraternity and was awarded the Founder’s Medal for highest academic achievement in the College of Arts and Science. He served in the United States Air Force at the time of the Korean War. He then entered Yale Law School, graduating in 1955. After his graduation, he moved to Birmingham to join the law firm Bradley, Arant, Rose & White (now known as Bradley). He was a partner at that firm for many years and remained Of Counsel to the firm long after his retirement.
His life spanned a momentous period in world history and, as an intellectual, he was keenly interested in all of it—from economics and travel to art and literature. As his friend, the legendary Southern poet Allan Tate said of him, “He’s a lawyer who reads books.”
Following his retirement, he served for a number of years as an advisor to pre-law students at Birmingham-Southern College, where he maintained an office. In 1995, he was designated by Birmingham-Southern as a Distinguished Fellow of the College. John Donne’s familiar words, “No man is an island,” are certainly true in John Wrinkle’s case; many of those he befriended and counselled remain trusted friends today. He had a deep interest in mentoring people from all different backgrounds and loved to find and create connections between them.
Mr. Wrinkle was a trustee of the Birmingham Symphony Association (predecessor of the present Alabama Symphonic Association) for a dozen years in the 1970s and 1980s, serving for a time as a member of the Executive Committee. He also served for several years on the Board of Trustees and the Finance Committee of the Episcopal Foundation of Jefferson County. As an interested alumnus, he served on the Board of Directors of the Vanderbilt Alumni Association, the Executive Committee of the Yale Law School Association, and the Yale Law School Fund Board. He was a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and a member of the Southern Employee Benefits Conference (now the Southern Benefits Education Network) from its inception, serving as an early officer and board member.
He was a long-standing member of the Mountain Brook Club and the Redstone Club in Birmingham, as well as The Yale Club and The Knickerbocker Club in New York City.
He has been a member of St. Mary’s-on-the-Highlands Episcopal Church for more than fifty years. He also served for more than forty years as a trustee of Drennen Trust for the benefit of the Church.
The family is deeply grateful to the devoted and indispensable care team led by Nicole Crawford and Terry Rice, and including LaTonya Tall, Wayne Mickel, Darrell Hall, as well as a dedicated and compassionate group of caregivers.
There will be a private interment service for the family, and then a public memorial service at St. Mary’s-on-the-Highlands on Thursday, August 3, 2023 at 2:30 pm, followed by a reception at the Church. Memorial contributions should be made to St. Mary’s-on-the-Highlands or to a favorite charity.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.johnsridouts.com for the Wrinkle family.
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