Nina Pinkston

Nina Raye Pinkston, an emeritus International Mission Board missionary who shared the gospel among European Affinity Peoples in Germany, died Dec. 2, 2019, in Grayson, Georgia, due to complications of breast cancer. She was 89.

Nina was born Dec. 30, 1929, in Bellevue, Texas, where her father, Ray Phagan, was the county sheriff. In 1944, they moved to Perryton, Texas where he served as the county sheriff for 26 years. Nina graduated from Perryton High School; attended Wayland Baptist University, Plainview, Texas; received the Bachelor of Arts from Texas Tech University, Lubbock; and received the Master of Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth.

While at Wayland she met Glen Pinkston of Levelland, Texas, and they married Sept. 3, 1949, in Perryton.

In 1953, the Pinkstons both had teaching jobs. Nina wrote when she applied for missionary service: “Yet we both had a desire to travel and perhaps serve the Lord elsewhere. After much prayer and researching all possibilities, Glen chose to reenlist in the United States Air Force. For that time until retirement, 27 years later, we have felt the Lord leading in each change of duty. Although we knew Uncle Sam paid the moving expenses, we felt the Lord was choosing where we would live.”

Over the next 31 years they lived in Japan, Ohio, Nebraska, England, California, West Germany and finally at Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth.

After Glen’s retirement, they moved in 1982 to West Germany to be Southern Baptist missionaries. For more than 10 years they helped grow Baptist churches near U.S .military bases across Europe. They averaged over 60,000 miles a year travelling to the churches. During one trip, they experienced a car accident in which Nina suffered a broken neck and collar bone, but she recovered and continued her mission work in Europe.

She moved to Georgia to be near her youngest son and his family about 18 months ago. Before that she lived in Fort Worth’s Wedgewood area with her husband, who died in 2017.

She is survived by her brother, Jim Phagan of Carrolton, Texas; two sons, Michael Pinkston of Plano, Texas, and Steven Pinkston of Grayson, Ga.; and five grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Dec. 21, 2019, at Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth, where the Pinkstons were members.

Read an obituary here.