John Richard Tinklepaugh, age 81, passed away peacefully at home on July 11, 2018. John was born in Binghamton, NY on November 20, 1936. He was the son of the late Joseph E. Tinklepaugh, Sr. and Pearl (Fletcher) Tinklepaugh. He grew up attending Calvary Baptist Church, an evangelical church in Binghamton that was formative for him. As a teenage counselor at the Word of Life Camp on Schroon Lake, NY, he felt called to the ministry. He graduated from The King’s College, in Briarcliff Manor, NY, and the Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary in Denver, CO.

While in seminary, in 1960, he married Linda Eggleston. After graduating, he was ordained as a Baptist minister. While serving as a pastor in the Morris Baptist Church in Morris, NY, and later at the Ridgeland Baptist church in a suburb of Rochester, NY, John and Linda had three children, one of whom was adopted. Adoption of a biracial child in the nineteen sixties resulted in consternation among his parishioners and family which led to his resignation from the Ridgeland church. He then began working for the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, a campus ministry at the University of Rochester and other area colleges. Their home became a favorite place for students to stop by and spend time in fellowship.

During this period, they began to attend protestant churches of different denominations. When attending an Episcopal service at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Rochester, they both felt “at home.” Continued reflection, study and conversations within the episcopal community, and an invitation by the rector and congregation at St. Paul’s to pursue ordination in the Episcopal church, resulted in a year of Special Studies at the Protestant Episcopal Theological seminary in Virginia. Completing his studies, John was ordained in the Episcopal church and joined the clergy staff at St. Paul’s. When Rwandan Bishop Justin Ndali visited St. Paul’s, he invited John and Linda to work in Rwanda as missionaries. Feeling a call to serve in Rwanda, they made the arrangements to move the family to Rwanda. Sadly, this transition led to the dissolution of the marriage, and the mission was cut short.

Upon his return to the U.S., John served as vicar to the Church of the Good Shepherd, Savona, NY. Mutual friends introduced John to his wife, Carole. In 1981, John was called to the Diocese of Pennsylvania where he served as priest to St. Andrews and St. Monica, in Powelton Village, Philadelphia and, later, as rector of St. Jude and the Nativity in Lafayette Hill, PA. “Father John” was honored to serve the congregation and community while at St. Jude and the Nativity for over 20 years. During this period, he pursued additional education and was awarded a Doctor of Ministry by the Lancaster Theological Seminary. John retired in 2006 and later in his retirement periodically served churches in the Diocese of Easton, MD and the Diocese of Fond du Lac, WI.

In his free time, John enjoyed sailing with his family, which included a trip in 2013 south on the Intercostal waterway from Maryland to Florida; flower and vegetable gardening, caring for a flock of chickens, and traveling.

John is survived by his wife of 37 years, Carole Nunamaker Tinklepaugh; his brother, Edward Tinklepaugh (Joyce); daughters, Naomi Tinklepaugh (David Fernandez) and Alice deCallatay (Woo Kwong); sons, Luke Tinklepaugh (Carol) and Abraham Tinklepaugh (Carrie); grandchildren: Michael, Leah, Benjamin, Ilana, Jacob, Amelia, and Xavier. In addition to his parents, John is preceded in death by his sister, Mabel Guth (Fred), and brother, Joseph Tinklepaugh (Charlotte).

A visitation will be held from 6-8pm on Wednesday, July 18, 2018 at R.T. Foard Funeral Home, 318 George Street, Chesapeake City, MD 21915. A celebration of John’s life will be held at 11am on Thursday, July 19, 2018 at St. Augustine Church, located at MD Rt 310 and Mitton Road, Chesapeake City, MD 21915, where friends and family may visit at 10 am prior to the service at 11 am. Burial will follow at the church cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made payable to “Augustine Parish” and sent in care of the funeral home, PO Box 248, Rising Sun, MD 21911.