PINNELL, JR., VESTA PAIGE 

(October 11, 1944 - March 27, 2017) 

Paige Pinnell of Santa Fe, New Mexico and formerly of Gainesville, passed away on Monday, March 27, 2017, from complications related to cancer. Paige is survived by his long-time love, Leslie Van Pelt, and sons Hardy Pinnell of New York, and Wolfe Schaaf of Seattle. 

Paige was born in Macon, Georgia, to Vesta Paige Pinnell and Mattie Lou Burch. The family moved to Gainesville, Florida when Paige was 1 1/2 years old. His father eventually became Postmaster in Gainesville, and his mother was a third grade teacher. As a boy in the segregated South, he had a Black friend, but they couldn't be seen together, so they would meet at the creek. They never got caught. Paige had a long involvement in Scouting, culminating in achieving its top honor of Eagle Scout. 

Paige graduated from Gainesville High School and entered the University of Florida, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography, with additional study in history, which was to become a lifelong passion. 

Following graduation Paige served as a VISTA volunteer in Atlanta, working in the Black ghetto of Vine City, developing a food co-op and for the Atlanta Model Cities Program. Paige helped found the Great Speckled Bird, an underground newspaper that achieved national prominence with its dedication to social and political life in Atlanta and the South. Paige also taught at the Atlanta School of Art. 

Paige moved to New Mexico in the 1969, where he received an MFA in photography and history of photography from the University of New Mexico, under the direction of Van Deren Coke, as well as working with Jerry Uelsmann at the University of Florida. Over a 12-year period Paige taught at UNM, the University of Florida, University of Oregon, and for two summers at the University of California, Berkeley. Paige hosted the Santa Fe/Dallas Photographic Workshops for twelve summers. 

Paige was an accomplished, exhibited photographer who created complex photomontages, using multiple-negative techniques prior to the development of digital photography. Paige had encyclopedic knowledge of New Mexico and Southwestern history, with particular interest in the Santa Fe Ring and Native American cultures in the Southwest. 

Paige was a quintessential Southern Gentleman, self-acknowledged curmudgeon, and a natural teacher and student of life. He connected with a wide cross-section of people; asked provocative questions, enjoyed a good argument, and was a skilled teller of jokes. Some of his heroes included Edward Abbey, Woody Guthrie, Aldo Leopold, B. Traven, Wallace Stegner, and authors B. Traven and Eugene Manlove Rhodes. Above all, Paige was a friend who cared, with his legions of friends as beneficiaries. 

Paige was a proud and independent Southerner who grew to love his adopted home in the American Southwest. He worked tirelessly on behalf of his community and our shared environment. When asked about his legacy, Paige said that he tried to enjoy and protect nature whenever he could. 

A gathering to remember and celebrate Paige's life will be held April 22, 2017 from noon to 3pm at the Randall Davey Audubon Center in Santa Fe. 

Tax Deductible donations can be made in his name to Audubon New Mexico-Randall Davey House Fund P.O. Box 9314 SF, NM 87504 or Santa Fe Friends of Traditional Music P.O. Box 5851 SF, NM 87502.