This is a lung disease that makes it hard to breathe. Given Pinckney's history of a weak spine and compromised posture, long-term breathing issues are a common comorbidity. There is no evidence that she was a smoker, suggesting this was likely a genetic or postural-related respiratory decline.

Her obituary and memorial services were kept private, which is consistent with how she lived much of her life after retiring from the public eye in the late 1990s.