John Tinker, a longtime Fresno State sociology department faculty member and professor emeritus, passed away on April 3, in Fresno. He would have celebrated his 83rd birthday on the 4th of July.

Tinker graduated from Fresno High School in 1956 and went on to Fresno State where he earned a B.A. in sociology and anthropology in 1960, then, after a brief time in Officers’ Candidate School for the U.S. Marine Corps, he went on to the University of California, Los Angeles where he earned a Ph.D. in sociology in 1973.

While working on his doctorate, Tinker started teaching sociological theory and statistics at CSU Los Angeles. However, in 1969, because he wanted to return to Fresno, Tinker accepted a position in the sociology department at Fresno State and he and his wife began their lifelong stay in Fresno.

Tinker’s teaching and research interests included social inequality (race and ethnic relations, social stratification), social psychology, survey research and statistics. At Fresno State, he served as department chair, participated on several senate committees and often taught statistics in the school of education and in the philosophy department team teaching a theory class.

His awards at Fresno State include faculty research grants on "Stratification and the School," 1969-1971 and another on "Ethnic Bias in Felony Sentencing," 1979-1980.

Tinker retired in 2006 and his teaching career is reflected on a brick that sits on Fresno State’s "Honor Wall." In 2018, he and his wife completed a scanning and editing project for the Special Collections Research Center at the Henry Madden Library.

According to his obituary, being a sociology professor was very important to him and he truly enjoyed the interaction he had with his students as they listened to what he thought was important knowledge, hoping they would use it in some meaningful way.

Tinker is survived by his wife of 58 years, Carlene Tinker, and their children, David and Julia. His cremains were prepared by the Neptune Society and are placed at the Chapel of the Light. A reception is planned for October. The date and place is to be determined or whenever it’s safe.