Pinckard-Fechtner, Sauree "Nina" Obituary

Pinckard-Fechtner, Sauree "Nina" attended Elk Grove High School in Elk Grove, CA. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Pinckard-fechtner, Sauree "nina".

Graduation Year	Class of 1971
Date of Passing	Jan 08, 2011
About	Mrs. Pinckard-Fechtner, 57, who survived blood clots in her lungs about 15 years ago, was home when she suddenly reported trouble breathing and chest pain, said her husband, Don Fechtner. She was taken by ambulance to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. The cause of death is pending, a Sacramento coroner's official said. Mrs. Pinckasr-Fechtner, a longtime Sacramento State costumer who outfitted theater productions from Hawaii to New York, graduated from Sacramento State and joined the Department of Theatre and Dance as an entry-level costume technician in 1974. In recent years she served as costume designer and won favorable notices for many shows, including "Nunsense," "Bat Boy," "42nd Street," "Seussical," and "Love, Suicide, and Sonezake." Her experience included positions as costume director and costume shop manager for productions by Capital City Ballet, Music Circus, and Sacramento Theatre Company. She designed costumes for for popular revues at the Sacramento State Fair, including "Pop Rocks" in 2007 and "Viva Carnival" in 2002. She left Sacramento for three years to work with major performing groups, including San Francisco Opera, Berkeley Theatre, Old Globe Theatre in San Diego and Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo, New York. She had been production manager for Summer Repertory Theatre in Sanata Rosa and worked at the Hawaii Opera Theatre. Besides her talent, Mrs. Pinckard-Fechtner earned a reputation as a hard worker and easy going collaborator. She put in long hours draping, cutting, sewing, and stitching costumes for characters ranging from nuns and Shakespearen players to rock stars and creatures in children's stories. "Nina was a tireless worker," theatre and dance chairwoman Linda S. Goodrich said. "She was so personable and accessible to anyone and everyone needed her. She loved her job." Mrs. Pinckard-Fechtner was born in 1953 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to a U.S.Navy sailor and a housewife from Okinawa, Japan. She lived for several years as a child in Okinawa before settling in Elk Grove, where she acted in plays and graduated from Elk Grove High School in 1971. She studied theater at Sacramento State and left before completing a master's degree at New York University. She married her husband Don in 1983 and reared two children. Mrs. Pinckard-Fechtner's interests in theater went beyond costumes. She joined with artist Clair Hurni to create a puppet company, Puppets in Motion, and spent several weeks writing scripts and music shows. She also assisted with productions by Sacramento State puppeteer Richard Bay. "She also liked gardening, drawing, and reading murder mysteries," her husband said. "She loved theater best." Survived by husband Don Fechtner of Sacramento; son, Eric Fechtner of Sacramento; daughter, Katie Haskett of Sacramento; stepfather, Tom Hansum of Sacramento; and brothers Jim Pinckard of San Diego, and Casey Hansum of Elk Grove. In lieu of flowers, donations maybe made to the University Foundation at Sacramento State by clicking the "Make a Gift" icon at www.csus,edu/giving. - Information from the Sacramento Bee, January 23, 2011.