Thomas Kinkade Memorial Will Be Private, Public Service Considered

A private memorial service is being planned for the late American painter Thomas Kinkade, at his Monte Sereno home on Ridgecrest Drive.

"There's going to be a private memorial service and they're (Kinkade's family) still working on any plans for anything that's public. They just haven't nailed that timing yet," said family spokesman David Satterfield.

Asked when and where the private gathering will be, he said "soon, but I don't think they've even decided and I don't think that they want the public there."

Satterfield said he had previously worked for the Thomas Kinkade company, headquartered in Morgan Hill, providing public relations services, and was asked by the company to help deal with media inquiries after Kinkade's death.

A representative with Darling & Fischer Mortuaries in Los Gatos said he wasn't aware of any services being planned with the well-regarded mortuary for the famous painter.

"Our schedule doesn't show Mr. Kinkade's information here," said the worker.

Employees at the Thomas Kinkade company on Thursday, who declined to be identified, said they had heard the painter's body would be preserved and that the private family service is being planned.

A woman in the company's executive office referred all questions about Kinkade's funeral to Satterfield, with the San Francisco-based GFBunting public relations firm.

Meanwhile, Kinkade's fans near and far continued to reach out to Los Gatos Patch seeking information and sharing their feelings about the death, kind and unkind.

"I was very saddened to learn that Thom was dead at such a young age," said Los Gatos Morning Rotary Club member Ron Lykins. "I did not know him well but enjoyed him. I found him very intense, amusing and interesting. Thom was a man who lived life to its fullest. He had some challenges in his personal life in recent years and I have not seen much of him since."

Lykins even provided a courtesy photo of Kinkade that he had taken during a in Los Gatos in the summer of 2003 on Santa Cruz Avenue. The show benefits Los Gatos Rotary Club charities.

A medical examiner at the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office said an

said she was with him when he died Friday, had called 911 at 11:30 a.m. and identified herself as Amy Pinto.

She also said she was Kinkade's live-in girlfriend, was with him for 18 months and that Kinkade had been separated from wife Nanette for quite a while.

As to the cause of death, she said she wasn't supposed to divulge the information and that the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office would have more details in the next few days. "He died in his sleep ... He had a heart condition," she said.

The Thomas Kinkade company issued a statement about the painter's death last weekend to employees and art dealers. To read the complete statement, please click