Jim Kindall

How did a music loving hippie from California end up teaching high school/ middle school music in Kansas for 35 years? Let’s start at the beginning ….

James Haworth Kindall was the son of Beulah Annette Kindall ( a petite soprano from Ottawa, Kansas who was a working professional in California all her life) and James Vernon Kindall (a chemist and church organist from Canon City Colorado, who aided in the invention of plastics that kept the first unmanned space craft from burning up). Jim was born in Toledo, Ohio and was brother to Candy Hammond, an older sister.

When Jim was in the fifth grade, his family moved to California (so his dad could work on plastics at NASA). The ocean Jim found there influenced his lifetime love of water. As a teenager he and his friends would surf and spend summer evenings sleeping on the sand by a campfire, one of his favorite memories. Living first in San Diego, and later in Riverside Jim went to Polytech High School and was a member of the large ensemble and Madrigal singing groups. His vocal instructor there developed Jim’s voice and later influenced the repertoire Jim’s own choirs would sing. Their groups sang at special events all over California and recorded two albums in the 60’s. (Most people would be able to find Jim on the album cover, even without his beard which was part of his entire adult countenance).

Click here to read the full obituary for Jim Kindall.

Memorials are suggested to the Parsons Educational Foundation.