Ernest Ray Pinson, Jr.

Dr. Ernest Ray Pinson, Jr. of Ocean Springs passed away early Saturday morning at We Care Hospice in Moss Point at age 85. He was born February 23, 1934 in Greenbrier, Tennessee, to Ernest Pinson and Mattie Poole Pinson, the only boy and last of their four children. He spent his childhood years in New Orleans, and in Newton and Clinton, Mississippi while his father taught theology and philosophy at Clarke Memorial College and Mississippi College, and pastored numerous churches. Ernie majored in English at Mississippi College and then went into the army and was stationed at Fort Myers in Washington, DC where he worked in intelligence at the Pentagon. Following his discharge, he completed a Masters degree in English at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and started teaching at Bluefield College in Virginia where he met and married Patricia Testerman in 1963. While there, Ernie taught Literature and Composition, started the chess club and sponsored the literary journal, and Pat taught piano and Music classes. Together, they left Bluefield College briefly to complete their doctorates at Ohio University and then returned to teach at Bluefield for another two years. In 1969, both Ernie and Pat came to teach at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, where they taught for the next 27 years. There, Ernie loved teaching his classes in Literature, Detective Fiction, Science Fiction, Drama, Shakespeare, and Honors and was elected by the students and faculty as Teacher of the Year twice. He was president of U.U. Faculty Forum and Editor of the Forum Journal, faculty editor of the student literary arts magazine and sponsor of Alpha Chi National Honor Society and ATO fraternituy, authored the history of Union for the centennial pageant, presented papers at conferences, and led student tours of Europe. He received grants from the Mellon and Folger foundations, National Science Foundation and National Endowment for the Humanities. He continued his post-doctoral studies at the University of Virginia and at Oxford and Cambridge universities in England, and retired from Union as Distinguished Professor and awarded Emeritus status in 1997. After teaching at William Carey College on the Coast in Gulfport, he moved to Nanjing University in Nanjing China to teach there for three years. Throughout his life, he loved to travel, and was an avid supporter and reviewer of the arts. On the Coast, he became the arts reviewer for The Harbinger weekly paper in Mobile, and The Ocean Springs Record and Gazette. In Tennessee, he was a deacon in West Jackson Baptist Church where he taught Sunday School, and wrote and delivered seven Lenten dialogues with Pat and Heather. He was a keen chess and bridge player, herb gardener, and in many years in Rotary, became Rotarian of the Year and a Paul Harris Fellow. He is preceeded in death by his parents, Ernest and Mattie Pinson and sisters, Cola Hatheway and Mildred Holmes. His sister, Lois Pinson lives in San Diego, California. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Dr. Pat Pinson, daughter, Dr. Heather Pinson, son-in-law, Dr. Matthew Conboy, several nieces and nephews, and his beloved little dog, Zellie, who was always by his side. The memorial service will be on Friday, March 8 at 3 pm with a visitation from 2-3pm at the Ocean Springs Chapel of Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home on Porter Avenue in Ocean Springs. In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome to one of Ernie Pinson's favorite organizations. When donating, please include a comment to specify that the money is in the name of Ernest Pinson and whether you would like the organization to let the Pinson family know of your contribution. 1.Picayune Animal Shelter and Pearl River County Society's branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals where he adopted his beloved dog Zellie. http://prcspca.org/paypal/ with options to use PayPal or a credit/debit card. 2. Mary C O'Keefe Cultural Center specifically to the Duckett Art Gallery. https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?donation=mcocc 3. The Ocean Springs Rotary Scholarship program where Ernie served for many years.