William (Bill) Pinckney

William Graham (Bill) Pinckney passed peacefully on September 8th, 2026, at his home in Edmonton, Alberta.

Born to Jack and Margaret Pinckney on April 23rd, 1943 while Jack was stationed with the RCAF in Belleville, Ontario, Bill grew up in Rosetown, Saskatchewan, where he discovered and developed two of the passions that would shape and define his life: words and music.

Always a voracious reader, he was fascinated with his father’s work editing the Rosetown Eagle newspaper. After almost setting the building on fire in an “incident” with the linotype machine, however, he determined that perhaps the spoken word might be more his calling. He pursued a career in law, culminating in being named a Queen’s Council after working in General and then Special Prosecutions for the Government of Alberta. He was universally admired for his courtroom style and deeply appreciated by the younger lawyers he mentored in the years before his retirement. After retiring, he continued to be able to hold a room in thrall as he told (and retold) the stories he loved. With a wry wit and perfect timing, he would regale his audience with “the one about the beautiful cotton shirt that kept disappearing” or “that one murder case that could’ve been an episode of Columbo.” If words were paint, Bill was a prolific and gifted artist.

His second passion was music. Despite being raised in a family of well-trained (but perhaps a bit rigid) musicians, Bill didn’t learn to read music until well into his 40s. That didn’t slow him down, though, as he learned to play clarinet and saxophone completely by ear, listening to scratchy 78s by Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, and Woody Herman in his parents’ basement. He played in many bands over the years, always in awe of the other musicians “who could read the music and play it through perfectly the first time,” having no idea that those same musicians were just as impressed by him, “who could hear the music once and just play it, intuiting the harmonies to solo over it without any formal training.” Once he moved to Edmonton, he mostly shared his music with friends and family, jamming weekly for years (and at every party) with the descriptively named “Millwoods Basement Jazz Ensemble” along with his wife Joyce on the piano, family friend John Berry on drums and (usually) one of his daughters on vocals, staying up late on a school night to carry the love of music on to the next generation.

Which, of course, brings us to Bill’s greatest passion, the love and devotion he had for his family. He was a loving and devoted older brother to Anne, who predeceased him, and George (Maida), who got to have a lovely visit with him days before he passed. His children, Julia (Adam), George (Sapna), and Elda (Chris) filled him with pride and happiness, bragging about their achievements and discretely ignoring their defeats. His grandchildren Logan, Tavish and Joyce brought him a rainbow of chaos and delight, and he loved being around them whenever he could.

And finally, his love for his wife Joyce, who predeceased him after 49 years of marriage, defined him, fulfilled him, and made him a better man. They travelled together across the world and home again, from their early married life in Saskatoon to summer road trips with the family to their beloved Clearwater Lake and later, summers in Edmonton and winters as snowbirds in Tucson. They raised their children together, supported and cared for each other, they shared, embellished and corrected each other’s stories, and they (literally) made beautiful music together. They are both desperately missed.

There will be a Celebration of Life held on October 18th, 2026 in Edmonton. Please contact the family for details.