Earl Clarence Kingman Obituary (1933 - 2023)

Earl Clarence Kingman's life was dedicated to the service of others: to country, community, church, farmers, flying, foreign cultural exchanges and family. And the Chicago Cubs. Born on June 18, 1933, in Dwight, Illinois, he was raised on his parents' dairy farm near Gardner, Illinois, and his numerous interests never took him far from the farm, except during his military service. As a youngster and 4-H member, Earl won numerous prizes for his dairy cows before going on to earn a bachelor's degree in agriculture at the University of Illinois, where he also participated in ROTC. Farming and military service thus became central as the two legs of his professional life. He won the prize for Grand Champion Bull at the 1955 Illinois State Fair, an achievement so emboldening that the fairgrounds became the setting for his proposal of marriage to a winner in the bread-baking competition, his hometown sweetheart Rhea Christensen. Things happened fast the following two years. They married, he graduated from the U. of I. and he joined the U. S. Air Force. He served as Air Force navigator in Texas, California and Yokota Air Force Base, Japan, the latter assignment involving reconnaissance missions along the coast of North Korea and the former Soviet Union. Their son Craig was born in 1957 and a daughter, Linda, followed in 1959 while they were stationed in Japan. Earl went on to serve for more than 20 years in the Air Force Reserves and Air National Guard, accumulating 4,000 hours of flight time, much of it during the 12 years he served on KC-97 and KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft. He flew to more than 25 countries before completing his military service in 1986, having risen to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His family enjoyed watching him participate in demonstrations of aerial refuelings at the Chicago Air and Water Show. His civilian professional life included more than 30 years at Bloomington, Illinois-based Growmark, Inc. In 1995, Southern Illinois University presented him its award for Outstanding Service to Agriculture. His work in agriculture and the military would be distinguishing enough, but it was Earl's tireless efforts outside of his professional life that puts his legacy on a loftier pedestal. In this part of his life, too, it was his partnership with wife Rhea that made his service most beneficial to others. For 33 years Earl served on Bloomington-Normal's Sister City Committee, which made possible countless exchanges of high school students between his hometown and Asahikawa, a city on Japan's northern Island of Hokkaido. A military professional for most of his life, Earl believed that national security was best served by closer personal ties between nations. Earl chaired the committee for five of those years and visited Asahikawa 10 times. Many Japanese students stayed at the Kingman home. In the 1980s, when Normal, Illinois, was on the short list of possible locations for a new Mitsubishi auto manufacturing plant, local economic development authorities made Earl a key advisor because of his relationships and knowledge of Japan. Prior to his leadership with the Japanese Sister Cities, one exchange student from a different country had a particularly lasting relationship with the Kingman Family. Uli Horn, a high school exchange student from Germany, lived with the Kingmans during the 1973-74 school year. Uli, now a physician and father of six, stays in regular contact and together with his own family, has traveled in the US and Europe with members of the Kingman family. An instrument-rated, commercial-licensed pilot of single-engine airplanes for more than 50 years, Earl served for more than 40 years on the board of the Prairie Aviation Museum, which named him a lifetime member. For 10 years he was on the board of commissioners of the Central Illinois Regional Airport, three of them as chairman. He was a member for more than 40 years in the Bloomington Exchange Club, including service as board member and chair, and was a member of the Kiwanis Club. He was mentor to numerous honor students through a program offered by Illinois State University. At the Second Presbyterian Church in Bloomington, he was an elder, board member and holder of various leadership posts. A lifelong Cubs fan, for years he organized Bloomington-Normal Days at Wrigley Field, bringing busloads of Central Illinois fans to the Chicago ballpark, often for games against archrival St. Louis Cardinals. He organized annual Chicago Cubs Caravans for five years, with Cubs players and coaching staff traveling to meet, talk and sign autographs for their Bloomington-Normal fans, with proceeds going to the Sister Cities Committee. Earl was named Honorary Cub at a Wrigley Field Ceremony in 2012, just four years before his die-hard support paid off in the 2016 season, when the Cubs won the World Series Championship, their first since 1908. In 2018, Earl's son from Colorado and daughter from suburban Chicago traveled in secret with their spouses, making a surprise appearance at ceremonies where the City of Normal named him Citizen of the Year. Normal Mayor Chris Koos told WGLT radio, "Earl is one of those quiet doers in the community. He has always been involved in things. When he gets involved, he stays involved for a long time. And he works behind the scenes. He's unassuming. He seems quiet, but he's a strong worker, and the things he works on are visionary." Earl is survived by his wife of 66 years (married Jan. 29, 1956), Rhea Kingman (nee Christensen); his sister Lois McDonald of Morton, Illinois; his son Craig (Melanie) of Greeley, Colorado, and daughter Linda Kingman (Jim Graham) of Northfield, Illinois; grandchildren Neal Kingman (Kaylyn), Anna Kingman, and Spencer Graham; and great grandchildren Carter, Jesse and Corey Kingman. He was preceded in death by his brother Walter Kingman. The family thanks Westminster Village and Martin Health Center for the wonderful care they provided Earl. Earl's funeral will be at 11:00 am Wednesday January 18th at Second Presbyterian Church, Bloomington. Rev. Trey Haddon will officiate. Visitation will be from 4:00 - 6:00 Tuesday at Calvert & Metzler Memorial Home, Bloomington. A graveside service will be at 2:30 Wednesday at Braceville-Gardner Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to Second Presbyterian Church of Bloomington, the Prairie Aviation Museum in Bloomington, or the Bloomington-Normal Asahikawa Sister Cities Committee.