Dave Pinkley Memorial Park

Pinkley Park: Remembering One of Our Own

On La Haye Street in the quiet residential neighborhood just north of downtown, five acres of open space bear the name of a man who spent decades serving Ste. Genevieve without fanfare—Dave Pinkley, “Big Guy” to those who knew him, a city employee whose quiet dedication to work and community translated into infrastructure that others built upon, into problems solved without self-promotion, into the kind of presence that becomes irreplaceable only after sudden absence makes clear what was always there. When Dave died suddenly on January 13, 2017—a heart attack claimed him after a shift during harsh winter weather, at fifty-six—the city recognized that some people deserve more than memory contained within individual hearts. They deserve a place. A space where neighbors gather, where children play, where the community continues what Dave embodied: showing up, contributing, caring for shared spaces.

The Park: Simple Dignity, Genuine Welcome

Pinkley Park covers roughly five acres with a straightforward philosophy: amenities serving actual neighborhood needs. Gravel parking allows easy access. A basketball court invites athletic engagement. A picnic area welcomes gathering. Playground equipment—distinctive tropical tiki-hut design featuring paired slides, a bridge, climbing ropes, and sliding tubes—came from Dick and Suzanne Greminger, who recognized that equipment sitting idle at a closed daycare facility could find new life here, could serve neighborhood children, could carry forward the spirit of community contribution that Dave himself embodied.

The signage—yellow lettering against woodsy background—bears Dave’s name and another honoring the Gremingers’ donation. Simple, dignified, avoiding excessive elaboration. This is memorial made physical without theatricality.

North Gabouri Creek: Water, Wildness, Neighborhood Refuge

Beyond the park’s formal amenities sits something equally valuable: access to North Gabouri Creek, that ribbon of water threading through the residential landscape offering what urban parks rarely provide—genuine connection to living water. Children wade in summer shallows. Dogs shake themselves dry on the banks. Neighbors discover the particular peace that water brings, the way creeks slow time and invite observation.

Future improvements envision modest walking trails and enhanced creek access—not elaborate infrastructure but rather thoughtful expansion of what the park already offers: open space, gathering possibility, connection to neighborhood ecology.

The Dedication: Community Witnessed, Memory Honored

More than fifty people gathered on October 10, 2017—almost nine months after Dave’s death—to witness the park’s official dedication. His nephews and brothers and sisters came. Gary Roth, field operations supervisor who had worked alongside Dave for years, spoke about friendship alongside professional respect. Mayor Paul Hassler, who had officiated at Dave’s funeral, recognized the transformation of empty neighborhood space into memorial. Mike Pinkley offered prayer. The ceremony lasted fifteen minutes—no excess, just genuine acknowledgment that Dave’s service mattered and deserved recognition.

Gary Roth, understanding that Dave’s memory deserved visible honor, personally crafted the park’s signage—that yellow lettering against woodsy background becoming small monument to friendship and respect.

The Neighborhood Asset: Often Empty, Always Available

The park sits in a neighborhood often underestimated—residential area north of downtown, frequently empty by appearance, possessing tremendous potential for those who live nearby. For neighborhood children, it offers playground access without requiring driving. For families, it provides picnic space and gathering opportunity. For anyone needing creek connection, it delivers unexpected water access within urban context.

This is neighborhood park in truest sense: not destination requiring pilgrimage but rather ordinary space serving ordinary community members, available whenever needed, welcoming without formality, inviting without pressure.

Practical Information

• Name: Pinkley Park (David A. “Big Guy” Pinkley Memorial Park)
• Location: La Haye Street, residential area north of downtown Ste. Genevieve
• Dedicated: October 10, 2017
• Size: Approximately 5 acres
• Amenities: Gravel parking, basketball court, picnic area, playground equipment (tropical tiki-hut design with slides, bridge, climbing rope, sliding tubes)
• Natural Features: Access to North Gabouri Creek
• Planned Improvements: Creek access point, modest walking trails
• Neighborhood: Residential, walking distance to downtown
• Memorial: Dedicated to David A. “Big Guy” Pinkley (1960-2017), longtime city employee
• Parking: On-site gravel parking

Perfect For:

• Neighborhood families seeking playground access
• Children wanting active outdoor space
• Creek exploration and water play
• Picnic gatherings and community gatherings
• Basketball players
• Dog walkers and pets seeking water access
• Anyone understanding that neighborhood parks serve different purpose than destination attractions
• Those valuing community connection and local history

The park succeeds because it honors someone genuine—not a celebrity or historical figure but rather an ordinary person doing their work with integrity across decades. Dave Pinkley’s legacy isn’t monumental but rather deeply human: he showed up, he contributed, he earned respect through consistent presence and willingness to do what needed doing.

The community’s decision to memorialize him through a functional neighborhood space rather than mere plaque demonstrates understanding that the best memorials serve living communities. Every time neighborhood children play at Pinkley Park, every time neighbors gather at the picnic area, every time someone wades in North Gabouri Creek, Dave’s memory is honored not through static remembrance but through active use, through the park continuing to serve the community he served throughout his life.

The playground equipment’s origin—repurposed from a closed daycare—carries its own message about community resource-sharing, about recognizing value in what might otherwise be discarded, about making use of what’s available to serve shared needs. This philosophy would have aligned with Dave’s own approach: practical solutions, community benefit, no excess.

The Experience

You discover Pinkley Park perhaps by chance while exploring the residential neighborhood north of downtown. The yellow lettering on woodsy background catches your attention. You pull into the gravel parking area and step into five acres of open space—children playing on the tropical tiki-hut equipment, perhaps a basketball game in progress, maybe neighbors gathered at the picnic area.

If visiting during warm months, you might venture toward North Gabouri Creek, discovering water access most urban parks don’t provide, finding that particular peace that moving water brings. Your children or your dog might wade into shallows while you sit on the bank watching light through trees.

You leave understanding something essential about Ste. Genevieve: this is community that remembers its own, that honors service through functional spaces, that understands that the best memorials continue serving the people the deceased served.

Visit Pinkley Park seeking neighborhood authenticity rather than tourist destination polish. Bring children for playground time. Bring a picnic for gathering space. Bring your dog for creek access. Leave understanding that community parks, neighborhood spaces, ordinary gathering places often embody more genuine value than elaborate attractions. Leave carrying appreciation for people like Dave Pinkley who serve without fanfare, whose work becomes visible only when absence makes clear what was always there. Leave knowing that Ste. Genevieve remembers, honors, and continues forward through spaces bearing the names of those who mattered.