Kyhl Smeby

This afternoon was the funeral of a friend and mentor Kyhl Smeby. Kyhl was a member of my board of directors but also served the independent colleges in a number of other ways. He retired from the Bank of America, when it was a company to be proud of, as an Executive Vice President. He earned his college degree late in life.

There was a fundamental humility about Kyhl. He listened well and only gave advice when it was bound to help. He lost his wife of 57 years a couple of years ago. They were very much a pair and that seemed to start a decline.

At the funeral his son John told a story of him pursuing a bank robber to get his license plate. It was a revealing story on several levels. First, as noted above, Kyhl was a soft spoken many times self-effacing guy. But second, all the time that I knew and worked with him he was driven a a clear sense of values created in part by his faith.

Kyhl made real contributions to two independent colleges in California, to their board and to some wider causes for higher education. He also supported the local public television station and a couple of music organizations - he was a fan of opera, as am I. All of his contributions were made from a sense of service not a sense of resume building. It is a value that is less present than it was a generation ago.