James Earl Kindig

James Earl Kindig

James Earl Kindig, 85, of Stuarts Draft, passed away Saturday, November 20, 2010, at the Shenandoah Hospice House.

Born March 25, 1925, in Augusta County, he was the son of the late John Henry and Mabel Belle (Rimel) Kindig.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by sisters, Eva Lee Appl, Hazel Durham and Louise Kindig; and a brother, Lyle Kindig.

Mr. Kindig was a lifelong member of Mount Vernon Church of the Brethren. He served as President of the Stuarts Draft Ruritan Club, Stuarts Draft Business Men's Association, Virginia Charolais Association and former Director of the Virginia Beef Cattle Improvement Association. He was an accomplished farmer and a major contributor to the book Virginia Cattle Story- The First Four Centuries.

Earl purchased his first Charolais bull in 1959, showed the first Charolais steer at the Virginia State Fair in 1961 and in 1966, he had the highest gaining bull of all breeds in the Virginia BCIA test station feed tests. Earl traveled throughout North America to find the optimum mix of genetics and confirmation to improve his herd.

In 1970, he traveled to Oregon with his son, James Lee, and purchased the "Poller" bull which was the first homozygous polled Charolais bull and became nationally known for siring only polled offspring. He sponsored and co-sponsored Charolais production sales at his Kinmont Farm, where his cattle were sold to breeders around the world.

Earl enjoyed spending time with his family, telling stories, farming and the company of his dog, Katie.

Mr. Kindig is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Betty (Yowell) Kindig; a son, James Lee Kindig and his wife, Jan, of Clifton; a daughter, Lucy (Kindig) Coyner and her husband, Hank, of Vinton; grandchildren, Beth Richardson and her husband, Jim, Robert Gum, Billy Kindig, Jackie Kindig, Taylor Coyner, Morgan Coyner and Craig Coyner; great-grandchildren, Caleb, Emma, Lucas Earl, Seth, Gianna and Audrey Richardson, as well as many nieces, nephews and close friends.

A funeral service will be held 2 p.m. Tuesday, November 23, 2010, at Mount Vernon Church of the Brethren, with Pastor Randy Simmons officiating.

Burial will follow at the church cemetery.

Active pallbearers will be Steve Hewitt, Walt Winkler, Larry Cohron, Dr. Dennis Hatter, Jason Hutchinson and Steve Ballew.

Honorary pallbearers will be LuAnn Hatter, Charles Boppe, Mark Ramsey, Don Perry, Gary Myers, Darrell Coffey, Hedley Coffey, Dan Woodworth and Bruce Bowman.

The family will receive friends from 6 until 8 p.m. Monday, November 22, 2010, at the Waynesboro Chapel of Reynolds Hamrick Funeral Homes, 618 W. Main Street, Waynesboro, Virginia.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Shenandoah Hospice House, 111 North Campus Lane , Fishersville, VA 22939 or Mount Vernon Church of the Brethren, 90 Mount Vernon Rd., Waynesboro, VA 22980.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.