Auburn – Wendell B. Tinkham Jr., (Bill), 83, of 19 Sunset Court, Auburn, died on Wednesday, March 21, at The Hospice House of Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice, with his family at his side.

Born in Monmouth on July 1, 1923, the youngest son of Wendall B. and Eva Belle G. (Maxwell) Tinkham, he was raised by his grandmother and grandfather Maxwell, at the request of his mother shortly before her untimely death, when he was 8 months old. He attended schools in Wales, Lewiston and Auburn, and received his G.E.D. following his honorable discharge from the U.S. Army, where he studied automotive technology under the G.I. Bill of Rights.

He was a proud veteran of World War II, having been inducted into the Army in January 1943, and discharged in March 1946. He served in the China Burma India Theater of the war as a sergeant. in the Signal Corps. He was employed in the automotive industry in the Lewiston and Auburn area until his retirement in June 1985, due to ill health.

He was married on Oct. 18, 1947, to Geraldine C. Clark, of Mechanic Falls, and together they celebrated 59 years of happy marriage. He was a member of the Auburn United Methodist Church, Tripp Lake Improvement Association, and Androscoggin Retired Teachers Association. He was a longtime corporator of the Auburn Public Library. He cared deeply about his family and friends, spending much time helping them and volunteering at his church. In 1994, he was awarded special mission recognition from The United Methodist Woman. In the pioneering years of the Auburn Suburban Little League, he actively participated in building of the baseball fields at the Lewiston-Auburn Airport, and coached the Stevens Mill Grange team for several years. He was an enthusiastic Red Sox fan and enjoyed gardening and coin collecting. His greatest joy was his family, including his mother-in-law, Inez Clark, who lived with the family for 18 years.

He is survived by his wife, of Auburn; a son, William and his wife, Celine, of Jackson, N.H.; a daughter, Heidi and her husband, Peter Pacetti, of Falmouth; four grandchildren, Emily and Maxwell Pacetti, and Mallory and Lucas Tinkham; one brother, Melvin and his wife, Grace, of Wales; one sister, Thelma Newton, of Manchester; and many nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by a brother, Eugene Tinkham; and a sister-in-law Phyllis Tinkham.