L. PATTON KLINE

L. PATTON KLINE L. Patton Kline, 89, died peacefully at the Summer House Hospice in Sebring, FL, on May 16. Patton Kline was born in Kansas City, MO, on November 6, 1928, to Ruth Carr Patton Kline and to Leonard Charles Kline. He graduated from the Middlesex School in Concord, MA, and from Yale University in 1950. In December 1950, he married Jean Caruthers Lysle. They were married for 49 years until her death in 1999. He was a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force from 1951 to 1953 and then returned to Kansas City to begin a career at the insurance firm of Mann, Kerdolff, Kline & Welsh. In 1975, he moved to New York City to become the head of the New York office of Marsh & McLennan, Inc. He rose to become president of Marsh & McLennan Companies before retiring in 1988. He was fortunate to be remarried to Myrna Christopherson of Lake Bluff, IL, and Mountain Lake, FL. They had 12 years together before she passed away in 2012. Patton was an accomplished golfer and was a member of a number of clubs, including The Kansas City Country Club, Cypress Point Club, Mountain Lake Club, The Misquamicut Club and the Old Baldy Club. He served as president of the latter three. He was active in the United States Senior Golf Association where he served as the chairman of the Invitational Tournaments as well as winning six of its tournaments. Patton was president of the Missouri Historical Society and was the chairman of the board of the New York College of Insurance during a critical period in its development. He was also a long-term director of the PHH Corporation and Utilicorp. In his later years when he could no longer play golf, he brought the same competitive drive to croquet and at 86 won both the single and double championships at the Mountain Lake Club. Survivors include his daughter, Laura Lazarus, and her husband, Michael, and their children Sam, Grace Sturges and Charlie; his son, Leonard Kline, and his wife, Diana, and their children, Patton and Janney Polsinelli; his son, Charles Kline, and his wife, Charlotte, and their children John, Sommers and India; three great-grandchildren, Carr Polsinelli, George Kline and Lysle Polsinelli, and his brother, William P. Kline, and his family. The family would like to extend its thanks to Patton's caregivers. A private service will be held for Patton in Watch Hill, RI, this summer where he will be interred with his wife, Jean. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak St, Kansas City, MO 64111 or to the Bok Tower Gardens, 1151 Tower Blvd, Lake Wales, FL 33853.