His father was Frank "Boss" Pinkley, father of the Southwest Monuments, and his mother was Edna Townsley Pinkley. They were married in 1906. Addison married Jean McWhirt, a Park Ranger and archaeologist at Mesa Verde National Park, in 1942. Sister Nancy Margaret Pinkley Whiting (April 23, 1910 to January 10, 1979). Addison attended the University of Arizona.