Kendyl K. Monroe passed away on November 14, 2016, in Bethesda, Maryland, at the age of 80.
The family will hold a small gathering on November 26th in Bethesda, Maryland, for area friends and family. Funeral services will be held at the Kenton United Methodist Church in Kenton, Oklahoma and burial will follow in the Kenton Cemetery on December 10, 2016. A celebration of life is being planned for January 6, 2017, in New York City.
The Extraordinary Life of Kendyl Kurth Monroe
A man of insatiable curiosity, leadership and willingness to get involved to make a difference, Kendyl’s extraordinary life included a highly successful law practice, an avid passion for genealogy, being an airplane owner and recreational pilot, a strong commitment to education as well as generous support for organizations advancing public health, historic preservation, music and theatre. He was a global traveler, including trips to both the North and South Poles, the Galapagos Islands, and particularly enjoyed fishing trips with his sons north of the Arctic Circle. He published two books: Small Worlds and Highlands Forests: Historical Sketches of Our Lands.
Kendyl was born on September 6, 1936, to D.D. and Helen Monroe in the remote prairie town of Clayton in Northeastern New Mexico. He lived there until completing public high school in 1954. He attended Stanford University (A.B 1958 cum laude) and Stanford Law School (L.L.B 1960). While at Stanford, he married his first love Barbara Ann Sayre in 1956, who he met in high school, and was married to for 56 years until her passing in 2012. With gratitude for his education at Stanford, Kendyl remained active in alumni affairs, serving as Chairman of the Board of Visitors, and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at Stanford Law School. In 1989, he was a recipient of the Stanford University Gold Spike Award for distinguished volunteer leadership.
Kendyl joined the prominent Wall Street law firm Sullivan & Cromwell in 1960 and became a partner on January 1, 1968 where he focused on national and international tax law. As a practitioner, he was active in the adaption of old and the creation of new methods of financing in response to the significant changes in tax laws over the years he practiced. He was Managing Tax Partner from 1981 to 1985.
After graduating law school, Kendyl initially lived in a YMCA in Staten Island when he moved to work in New York, and subsequently was able to afford the rent for a small apartment in Manhattan. Soon thereafter, Kendyl and Barbara bought and restored a brownstone house in Greenwich Village, originally built in 1866, where they raised three sons and entertained many guests from diverse backgrounds. Kendyl was very active in his children’s educational institutions serving as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Grace Church School, on the Collegiate School Board of Trustees as well as Senior Warden at Grace Church.
Kendyl was passionate about service, a quality he learned from his father. Among his favorite activities were serving in the leadership of the Clan Munro Association and on the boards of the off-Broadway Lamb’s Theatre; The Greenwich Village Society for Historical Preservation; the Public Health Research Institute; and the New York Chamber Soloists.
Kendyl helped organize the Highlands Forest Partnership in 1968, which purchased and preserved the natural conditions of a large tract of timberlands, streams, lakes and mountains in the Adirondack Park near Keeseville, NY. He and Barbara built a camp style house on the property where he enjoyed splitting firewood, rebuilding rock walls, horseback riding and cross country skiing. His children and grandchildren continue to cherish the Adirondack experience today.
Kendyl retired from Sullivan & Cromwell in 1994. He and Barbara built and moved to an adobe home on Barbara’s family’s historic Sayre Ranch located 40 miles northwest of Clayton, NM, in the valley of the Dry Cimarron River near the Colorado and Oklahoma borders. In 1995, he purchased the nearby and larger El Valle Escondido Ranch and spent his days fully restoring natural stone houses and undertaking land improvements as well as managing cattle and horses. He and Barbara loved to receive visitors from all over the world especially during the annual Round Up when the family cattle were branded. While he acclimated to ranch life, he quickly became active in many local ranching, agricultural and historic preservation efforts including serving as Chairman of the Eklund Association and overseeing the restoration of the Eklund Hotel and Saloon. He also served terms as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Union County Medical Foundation, Chairman of the Union County Water Board and President of the Clayton Rotary Club. He was also a proud member of the New Mexico Amigos, a non-profit organization to promote the state of New Mexico.
In 2010, Kendyl and Barbara relocated to Bethesda, Maryland, to be closer to their children when Barbara’s health began to decline. After helping to care for Barbara in her final years, Kendyl was gradually overcome by his own health challenges.
SURVIVORS:
He is survived by his three sons, Sidney, Dean and Loren and their children Veronica, Henry, Keenan, Devon, Miles and Linden.
MEMORIALS: In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Kendyl Monroe to the Clayton Rotary Club (checks written to Christmas Basket Fund; P.O. Box 548, Clayton NM 88415) or the Albert W. Thompson Memorial Library (checks written to Town of Clayton with “Library” written in the memo section; 1 Chestnut Street, Clayton NM 88415).
