Roxanne Holland Pinansky 

Deceased

Last yearbook with a picture:  1975 

Last Known Location: Seoul, South Korea 

Spouse:  Thomas 

Died:  2015 

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Roxanne Marie Holland (Pinansky), 58, passed away at the Maine Medical Center in Portland, with her husband Tom Pinansky, at her side, on Dec. 21, 2015. She valiantly fought a rare and aggressive cancer at medical centers in Seoul, Korea; Houston; and Maine for nearly six months.
She was born in Korea with the birth name, Ko, Ok-ja, on Sept. 23, 1957, came to the United States from an orphanage in Busan, Korea, as an adoptee, and grew up in Alvin and Austin, Texas. She considered her hometown to be Austin, Texas. She was a graduate of Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) in San Marcos, Texas, and she worked in Houston and Austin before moving to the Washington, D.C., area with her future husband, and then on to Seoul, Korea, where she primarily lived with her family from late 1988. Even while being primarily based in Korea, she spent significant time in Cape Elizabeth; Princeville, Kauai, Hawaii; and Austin, Texas, and was beginning to spend more time in Cape Elizabeth with her family in their new home.
She is survived by her husband, Thomas P. Pinansky; their young son, Barton; her brother, John William Theodore and his wife, Shirley; her mother-in-law, Suzanne Pinansky; her brother/sister in-laws, I. Victor and Ellie Pinansky and David and Harriet Pinansky; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and special friends from across the country and around the world. She was predeceased by her mother, Patricia Lucille Theodore; and sister, Lynn Theodore Fowler.
In 1996, Roxanne became the Director of Marketing, Public Affairs and Special Events for the Dragon Hill Lodge, the United States military’s largest recreation center in Asia. She became a well-known personality throughout the United States Forces Pacific Far East Region for her exuberant personality and the wonderful support she provided to numerous active duty servicemen and servicewomen, military retirees, and veterans of every rank and their families. She truly loved serving those who served our country, and she was deeply devoted to her work. For tens of thousands of service members stationed in Korea and throughout the region, she was the voice and face of the Dragon Hill Lodge.
A memorial service was held for Roxanne at the Dragon Hill Lodge on Dec. 30, 2015.
Roxanne was also very active with her husband in the expatriate community in Korea, and more broadly throughout Asia and the world, as she often joined her husband on their extensive world-wide travels, usually business-related. As a result, she had friends from all parts of the world.
Roxanne often visited the graves of the departed, went out of her way to visit and help the sick, and brightened the lives of so many who had the good fortune to meet her. There was an outpouring of love and support for her as she fought cancer, with so many traveling great distances in order to spend time with her during the final six months of her life. She and her entire family wish to thank the many people who provided so much support to her during those last six months, especially Mona Sandhop in Houston, and so many others in Seoul, Korea; Texas, and Maine.
She became a mother relatively late in life and was an amazing and loving mother to her beloved 3-1/2-year-old son, Barton. She was a dynamo of enormous energy – full of optimism, always thinking of others, and an excellent cook who enjoyed hosting large gatherings at home. She is greatly missed.
Roxanne was interred in a small, private ceremony on Dec. 24, 2015, at the Riverside Cemetery in Cape Elizabeth. There will be a celebration of her life on May 1, 2016, at the old Spurwink Church (next to the cemetery) in Cape Elizabeth.