Paco & Lynda Pinto-Torres

Paco and Lynda Pinto-Torres moved to Westminster Canterbury from Bedford. Lynda (née Smith) is from Altavista, and Paco is from Bogotá, Colombia. They met in Oberlin College/Conservatory and pursued graduate work at the University of Michigan, Wayne Law School, the University of Miami, and Virginia Tech. They lived in Miami, Florida for nearly 30 years, practicing law and teaching ESL, music, anthropology, and humanities at Miami Dade College.

They enjoyed sailing and at one point owned a 36.5’sailboat which they took out on ocean cruises and along the East Coast of the United States. In 2009, they sailed it up the Intra-Coastal Waterway to Virginia and left it anchored in Deltaville while they moved into their new home in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Now Paco teaches Spanish and Lynda tutors Spanish at Central Virginia Community College. Paco has taught at the University of Lynchburg and Virginia Military Institute. In January, he will also teach at Randolph College.

Though their two daughters and their families live far away in Ohio and California, they text daily, Zoom weekly, and get together at least once a year, if possible. Paco and Lynda had thought about moving closer to them, but decided their roots are plenty deep right here.  

Since his first visit to Altavista in 1965, Paco has loved central Virginia and its kind-hearted, generous folk. Throughout their life together (60 years in June of ’26!), their many moves and travels, they’ve always returned here to visit loved ones. They enjoy a much more sedate life now, playing the piano, reading, going to concerts and the theater, and spending time with family and friends. They’ve known for years that Westminster Canterbury would be the perfect place to spend the rest of their lives.