Kaye Kynion

Kaye Malcolm Kynion, 74, Springfield, died Monday evening, February 4, 2008. He was born in Springfield, Mo., the son of Kermit and Thelma Clark Kynion. Kaye graduated from Southwest Missouri State College in 1957, with a regular commission in the United States Marine Corps, in which he served for 13 years. After leaving the Marine Corps, Kaye owned or operated several small businesses in Springfield before joining the Federal Relief and Emergency Housing project for hurricane relief in Louisiana and Texas. Upon completion of that project, he was hired as the Chief Reconstruction Appraiser in New York City for General Adjustment Bureau, the nation's largest insurance evaluator. In 1978 he became the Executive Director of the Overall Economic Development Corporation in the Borough of Queens, New York City, also serving jointly as the Executive Director of the 501 (c) Corporation. During his nine-year tenure in these two offices, he was responsible for overseeing various NYC programs for HUD, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, Small Business Administration, Environmental Protection Agency Cleanup Program, construction of several major urban pedestrian malls and multiple NYC neighborhood renovation projects. His responsibilities included the development of the previously disused World's Fair site in Flushing Meadows into a museum-theater complex and the U.S. Tennis Association Stadium (now the site of the yearly U.S. Open Tennis Championship), the development of the air freight capacity at JFK and LaGuardia airports, and the redevelopment of the famous Silvercup Film Studios to become the city's leading film/television production complex. He was also a primary fundraiser and advisor for the redevelopment of the East River Waterfront Project. Since 1993 he has been the owner/manager of his own real estate brokerage in Springfield?Northwest Homes?and a member of the Springfield Board of Realtors. During his high school and college years, Kaye was on the debate and forensics team winning a number of trophies, including first place in the nation as an extemporaneous speaker at the National Forensic League Championship competition. He is also fondly remembered by Springfield theater audiences for numerous major roles in university and Springfield Little Theatre productions during the '50s and '60s. He continued to pursue his interest in acting during his years in NYC, appearing in Off-Off Broadway productions; he was a member of American Federation of Television Radio Artists and Actors' Equity. Kaye's passion for the theater extended to playwriting and several of his works were produced in New York, including his favorites: "By The Time I Get To Monmouth," produced by National Public Broadcasting, and "Tatiana Golikova Is Real," produced by the Off-Broadway house Nat Horne Theatre. At the time of his death, he was under contract agreement for a film version of his play "The Book of the Dead." He was preceded in death by his first wife, Nancy; his parents and his brother, Kermit Clark Kynion. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Pat Elliot Kynion; his daughters, Kelly, Kim and Kathleen; his son, Paul; his aunts, Isobel Steury and Geraldine Nilles; his sister-in-law, Ann Kynion; his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Jack and Mona Rae Elliott; three grandsons, Jack, Clayton and Curtis; nieces and nephews, John, Alison, Brenna, Casey and Brian; and his cousins, Pat and Joyce. He lived his life with passion, humor, unceasing curiosity and a close eye to the vagaries of fate; those of us who loved him are grateful to have shared the adventure. We will sorely miss him. A private interment service will be at National Cemetery. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, February 16, at St. John's Episcopal Church, 515 E. Division St.