Dorothy (Dot) Pinkston, Col. Us Army, Ret., Phd

Dorothy Pinkston passed peacefully on Tuesday, December 1, 2020 at Langdale Hospice House in Valdosta, GA. Dot, formerly of Birmingham, AL, had been a resident of Langdale Place in Valdosta since September 2009 and was a member of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
She was born in Parrott, GA on June 3, 1929, a daughter of Eugene Emmett Pinkston, Jr. and Marie Brown Pinkston. She attended elementary school in Parrott and Tifton, GA. The family moved to Atlanta in 1942 where she attended O’Keefe Junior High and then was a member of the final graduating class of historic Atlanta Girls High School (1947). Dot received a B.S. degree from Georgia College & State University (1951), Milledgeville, GA (then Georgia State College for Women).
Dot’s first year of employment was with the public school system in Jefferson, GA where she taught physical education for the girls and 8th grade biology. This was to be the first of many years that she would spend in teaching. In 1952 she applied to and was accepted for the Physical Therapy Program in the Medical School of Northwestern University. That same year she was commissioned second lieutenant in the United States Air Force. After receiving a Certificate in Physical Therapy (1953) she was on extended active duty with the Air Force for three years serving as a clinical physical therapist at Keesler AFB, Biloxi, MS and then at Barksdale AFB, Shreveport, LA. After release from active duty she continued serving in the US Air Force Reserve while working as a staff physical therapist at Emory University Hospital and at the VA Hospital in Atlanta, GA.
In the summer of 1960 Dot received a master’s degree from Emory University and then accepted a position as instructor in the Graduate Physical Therapy Curriculum (GPTC), Graduate School, Western Reserve University (the University merged with Case Institute of Technology and the name was changed to Case Western Reserve University – CWRU). The physical therapy program at CWRU was the first in the country to lead to a post-baccalaureate degree. She remained at CWRU until 1971 and continued study toward a PhD degree at the same university. From 1973 to 1975 she worked part-time at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation as Specialist for Education Activities. Dot accepted a position as Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy (DPT), School of Health Professions (SHP) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the fall of 1975. She received a PhD degree from CWRU in 1978 and continued on the faculty at UAB until she retired as professor emerita in October 1991.
Dot had remained in the US Air Force Reserve after extended active duty. In 1972 she transferred to the US Army Reserve and in the Army Reserve she served in two different positions. From 1972 – 1980 she served as Mobilization Designee: Assistant Director, US Army/Baylor University Program in Physical Therapy, Academy of Health Sciences, Fort Sam Houston, TX. Her second assignment with the Army Reserve, 1980 – 1986 was Individual Mobilization Augmentee to Chief, Army Medical Specialist Corps, Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, Washington, DC. She received the Meritorious Service Medal in 1987 and retired in June 1989 at the rank of colonel.
She was a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) from 1952 until the present and served in a variety of appointed and elected positions at the local chapter level and at the national level. Among the positions in which she served at the local level were President of the Georgia Chapter; of the Northeast District, Ohio Chapter; and Director of the Ohio Chapter. At the national level, among the positions in which she served are Director and member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, APTA; member of the Nominating Committee, APTA; member of the Committee on History, APTA. She also served on the Committee on Education in Physical Therapy, as Chairman of the Task Force on Accreditation Standards Handbook and as an on-site evaluator for physical therapy education programs being reviewed for accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education Programs.
Dr. Pinkston had a passion for curriculum development, a passion that was sparked during her earliest days at CWRU. She served as Chairman of the Curriculum Committee 1962 – 1970 and went on to have “curriculum and instruction” as her area of concentration for doctoral study. This was her area of focus at UAB also and she served as a consultant in curriculum development to other faculties in the SHP, UAB as well as to physical therapy faculties in other colleges and universities. Dr. Pinkston served on the faculty of numerous national workshops on curriculum development that were sponsored by components of the APTA. Dr. Pinkston’s area of research at CWRU was “student selection for physical therapy education”; at UAB her research was in the areas of “curriculum evaluation” and “job satisfaction of the graduates.” She published in all areas of her research.
She was recognized locally and nationally for her contributions to physical therapy education and for her service to the APTA. Among the awards received are The Lucy Blair Service Award (APTA) and the Joseph F. Volker Outstanding Faculty Award (SHP, UAB). In 1986 she was elected to the membership category of Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association, the highest honor bestowed by the Association and the same year she received the Mary McMillan Lectureship Award (APTA), the highest award given by the Association. In February 2007, in accepting funds donated by colleagues and friends across the country, the Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama approved the Bergman/Pinkston Endowed Professorship in Physical Therapy, Department of Physical Therapy, School of Health Professions, University of Alabama at Birmingham as “ . . . a fitting tribute to two individuals who have made a tremendous impact on their profession and this University . . .”
Though for the most part her career years and many retirement years were spent outside of Georgia, vacation time would find Dot in Georgia or the Panhandle of Florida at Grayton Beach. Participation in family events held high priority for her and frequently vacations were scheduled around events such as graduations and weddings.
Dot is preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Augusta Pinkston; a niece, Lynn Phillips; a brother and wife, Eugene Emmett Pinkston III and Constance Field Pinkston; a sister and husband, Lydia Ann Pinkston Phillips and Charles E. Phillips, Jr.; a brother and wife, Ewell Brown Pinkston, Sr. and Selina Patterson Pinkston; two nephews David Eugene Pinkston and Drew Eugene Phoebus Pinkston; and her devoted friend and companion of more than thirty years, Elizabeth L. Lambertson (Betty). She is survived by the following nieces and nephews: Emmett Pinkston (Judy), Lake Park, GA; Constance Spencer (Don), Orlando, FL; Darryl Pinkston, Freeport, FL; Gail Brannin (Ralph), Butler, GA; Buddy Pinkston (Gail), Lawrenceville, GA; Pat Wiley (Don), Ellijay, GA; Becky Steele, Newnan, GA; Doug Pinkston (Laura), Roswell, GA; Ed Phillips, Blairsville, GA; Bob Phillips (Kathy), Jessup, GA; Don Phillips (Joy), Powder Springs, GA; and Mary Ann Teal (Sam), Mableton, GA; along with all of their children and grandchildren as well as cousins Barbara Slocumb (Clint), Lake Park, GA and Bobby Pinkston (Jane), Santa Rosa Beach, FL.
Dot was an unending source of love, encouragement, support and wisdom to her entire family. She was greatly loved and will be deeply missed. Her legacy will live on.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a memorial contribution to a charity of choice or to The Foundation for Physical Therapy, 1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am (EST) on Saturday, December 12, 2020 at Carson McLane Funeral Home, 2215 N. Patterson Street, Valdosta, GA. 31602. Please note that COVID-19 safety procedures will be in place. This service will be streamed online also. Condolences to the family may be conveyed online at www.mclanecares.com. Carson McLane Funeral Home.