Floyd Edwin

Pinkley

Floyd Edwin Pinkley Lesterville, MO

Obituary

Twins Floyd and Lloyd were born in a farmhouse on Taum Sauk. C.M. Fitzpatrick attended the birth. Lloyd's weight was 7 lbs. 9 ounces, and Floyd's was 7 lbs. 7 ounces, on November 13, 1931, to Ferdinand Dent and Lulu Ethel (Hawkins) Pinkley. (Their parents preceded Floyd in death.) Floyd departed this life on February 25, 2025, at the age of 93.

He was preceded in death by three brothers and their wives: Clifford and Audrey (Lewis) Pinkley, Clarence and Anna (Weltie) Pinkley, and Lloyd Pinkley; one sister, Annabel Pinkley; and his parents.

Floyd was sick when he was young, between 3 and 7 years old, requiring a stay in St. Louis for regular treatments that lasted 60 to 90 days.

Floyd and Lloyd grew up on the farm at Taum Sauk, working on the farm and in the sawmill with their dad and Uncle Mont Lee. Fishing in Taum Sauk was good. They attended Lesterville School for 12 years, graduating on May 13, 1949.

Floyd's mother, Lulu (Hawkins) Pinkley, was a schoolteacher with the Lesterville School District and the first woman on the school board.

Floyd was well known for his basketball skills at Lesterville High School, having several successful seasons. He also enjoyed watching his sister, Annabel Pinkley, and nieces, Nadine and Marilyn , play volleyball at Lesterville High School during their successful volleyball seasons. He always enjoyed watching Lesterville High School sports.

After high school, Floyd worked with Clarence and Clifford in their sawmill operations near Lesterville and also in the trucking industry.

Floyd served his country in the Army, stationed in Korea. During the war years, Floyd and Lloyd were able to meet up while serving—Floyd in the Army and Lloyd in the Air Force—even while stationed in Korea on various duties.

After the Korean War, Floyd, Lloyd, and Harold Kelly worked in timbering, spending some time in the Gunnison, CO, area before returning to Missouri.

Floyd worked for Diversified Freight out of St. Louis for most of his working career, hauling VW, Porsche, and Audi cars to dealerships from the port in Lake Charles, LA, across the U.S. for approximately 40 years. Floyd would work on his trucks, and during slow periods, he would build new car carrier trucks for the Diversified Freight fleet at his shop near 850 Main Street in Lesterville.

During the late 1970s through 1996, Floyd and Lloyd enjoyed building dirt dragsters at Floyd's shop. Working with Bill Nichols, the group had several successful racing seasons. Floyd enjoyed working on the race cars and traveling to various races throughout southern Missouri and the surrounding states. The racing was completed as members of the Black River Jeep Club. Floyd always liked when friends would stop by his shop for a visit.

At one point, Floyd Pinkley established a scholarship with Lesterville High School in honor of his mother, Lulu (Hawkins) Pinkley, and Annabel Pinkley, for the top female high school graduate to continue her education. While Floyd never talked about helping others, he was known to have assisted those in the greater Lesterville area when he felt it was needed.

When Floyd retired from Diversified Freight, he purchased a 700+ acre cattle farm near Dixon, MO. Floyd enjoyed working on the farm for several days each week for several years. Floyd eventually split the farm into two parts and sold both. After that, he worked on assembling the cattle farm north of Lesterville. Floyd and Carmel Bradley worked on that farm for quite some time. Floyd enjoyed clearing the land, putting up hay, and developing cattle farms in his retirement years.

After Lloyd was in the nursing home from 2018 to 2021, Floyd visited each week as the twin brothers maintained their lifelong bond during Lloyd's time at the nursing home prior to his death. Floyd shared his vast collection of Western paperbacks with Lloyd during this period.

Floyd joined the Lesterville Fellowship Baptist Church as a member and embraced the Christian faith.

Floyd is survived by two nephews and three nieces: Kenneth D. Pinkley, James E. Pinkley, Marilyn (Pinkley) Lovelace, Sheila R. (Pinkley) Garland, and Marjorie L. (Pinkley) Hill. One niece, Nadine (Pinkley) Fitzpatrick, preceded him in death.

Floyd will be missed by family and many friends.

Visitation: Monday, March 3, 2025, 11am-1pm at McSpadden Funeral Home, Lesterville, Missouri

Funeral to follow at 1pm

Minister: Pastor Mitch Bryant

Interment: Lesterville Memorial Cemetery

Pallbearers: Winfred Parker, Kenny Pinkley, Jim Pinkley, Tony Lee, Avery Becker and Dan Sieve

Honorary Pallbearers: Jim Chadbourne and Don Reed

Arrangements by McSpadden Funeral Home, Lesterville, Missouri