Joseph Pynchon / 1926-2008
Services set for La Pietra’s initial leader
Star-Bulletin staff
Memorial services for Joseph Pynchon, who helped start La Pietra-Hawaii School for Girls and was its first leader, have been set for June 14.
Services will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. at La Pietra with a reception from 11 a.m. to noon.
Pynchon was 81 when he died Jan. 2 in Boise, Idaho. He was headmaster at La Pietra from its inception in 1964 until his retirement at the end of the 1990-91 school year.
He joined La Pietra from Iolani School, where he was chairman of the English Department.
Born in Boston, he served in Italy and India with the American Field Service in World War II. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Carroll College in Waukesha, Wis., and a master's of education degree from Harvard University. He was a freelance and features writer for Boston daily and weekly newspapers and magazines, as well as for education journals.
Pynchon is survived by his wife, Barbara Cheney; sons David Lewis, Joseph, Jr. and William; daughter Anne Savage; nine grandchildren; and four great grandchildren.