Retired Army Maj. Kevin Kinder had a chestful of ribbons and medals. But one of his most prized possessions came from his students at Festus Middle School: a pair of gaudy, light-up shoes, said his daughter, Alicia Kinder-Wimbley.
“Two weeks before he passed, he put up a post on Facebook of himself wearing those shoes,” she said. “He was so proud of them!”
Mr. Kinder died May 6 at age 61 of complications from pneumonia.
He was a standout athlete at Festus High School.
“When he graduated, he was told he should go work at St. Joe (lead smelter in Herculaneum),” his daughter said. “I think back then, that was kind of standard. But that wasn’t what he wanted to do; he wanted to get away. He had plans outlined about how he wanted to live his life.”
Mr. Kinder instead headed to college at Northeast Missouri State University in Kirksville (now Truman State University), where he was a leader in the ROTC program on the way to a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education. He would later earn two master’s degrees.
He met fellow student Sherri Lynn Troy, and they were married just after graduation in 1979.
Mr. Kinder enlisted in the Army, and after basic training, was assigned to a base in Germany.
“It was hard for both of them, being that young, moving across the world, not knowing anyone. They only had each other,” Alicia said.
Soon there were three, though; Alicia was born on New Year’s Eve in 1980.
Over the next few years, the Kinders lived in several places, including Oklahoma, Texas and another stint in Germany. During a 1983 visit to Missouri, their son, Adrian, was born.
The Kinders came back to the U.S. for good in 1988 when Mr. Kinder took a position as a professor of military science at Kentucky State University.
“He oversaw the ROTC program at the college,” Alicia said. “We stayed there two or three years, then we moved to Texas, where he worked as commander of an artillery group.”
Mr. Kinder retired from the military in 1996, and the family settled in north St. Louis County. He went to work for the Ferguson-Florissant School District as dean of students in the district’s alternative education program.
“He was really good at working with troubled youth, getting them back on track to return to a regular school setting,” Alicia said. “He handled discipline issues, too. He ran a tight ship, but the passion was always there for his students. He saw something in the kids that they maybe couldn’t see in themselves.”
Alicia said her father’s approach to his students was always positive.
“He just had that personality; not judgmental,” she said. “It was always, ‘Look, we’re going to work together, attack this head on.’ He believed in them.”
Mr. Kinder was a devout member of the Pentecostal church, where he played piano.
“Faith was an important part of his life,” Alicia said. “So was music. He wrote music of all kinds and liked to perform.”
The death of his wife in 2000 dealt a major blow to Mr. Kinder, and he left the workforce for a time, Alicia said.
“Then, in about 2003 or 2004, he decided to pick up and go back into teaching again,” she said. “This time, he wanted to work with adults.”
He went to work at Allied College in St. Louis County, teaching general education classes.
“I think he enjoyed it,” Alicia said. “He had people of all ages, from just out of high school to people close to his age who just wanted to do something different.”
In 2006, Mr. Kinder started talking about wanting a change of scenery and returning to the community and school he came from, so he went to work at Festus Middle School.
Anne Taylor, a 2014 Festus High graduate, said Mr. Kinder was a “student favorite” during what can be an otherwise difficult time in kids’ lives.
“My sister and I agree he was one of the few beacons of light in the middle school experience,” she said. “One of my friends said he’s the first person to say he believed in her.”
That doesn’t surprise his daughter.
“He was definitely a motivator,” Alicia said. “And I think he felt it was important for people of color to see someone like him.
“Festus is not as diverse as a lot of places he had been. There are a lot of children who look like him, and he wanted to show them – and all the kids – that there were a lot of opportunities that weren’t being talked about.”
Students were assigned to create posters for Black History Month, and Mr. Kinder was to be a judge.
“One kid did a poster on him. He said, ‘Whoa, I can’t judge this!’” Alicia said. “The child interviewed him, listed his awards and medals. He was so proud. They brought it to the funeral.”
Mr. Kinder had fought pneumonia and several bouts of the flu over the winter, but he and everyone else thought he was getting better right up until his death at home.
“It was very sudden and very unexpected,” Alicia said.
She said her father was proud of his military service and the impact he had on young minds.
“He was proud of where he came from, proud he was able to travel the world and make a difference.”
“Life Story,” posted Saturdays on Leader Publications’ website, focuses on one individual’s impact on his or her community.