Joseph R. 'Joe' Kingman, III

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Kingman, Joseph R., III "Joe" died peacefully in his sleep in his own bed and home on Summit Avenue in St. Paul, MN on November 25, 2023. Joe was two weeks shy of his 96th birthday. At the time of his death he was surrounded by his two children, Brant Kingman and Kate Wellington, and Brant's two children, Julian and Alondra Kingman. He is also survived by Kate's son Rob. Joe was preceded by his parents, Joe Jr. and Margaret Challman, his brothers Bill and Robert, his first wife Polly Penney and his second wife Kathy. Upon graduation from Wayzata High School, Joe attended Amherst College, graduating in 1949. After serving two years in the Korean War, he began a distinguished career as a banker. He started as an Assistant Cashier with First Bank and left as Vice Chairman prior to the bank's merger with US Bank. He then moved to St. Paul to become the President of The American National Bank. Simultaneously, he served for 21 years on the board of The Anchor Bank, which recently became Old National Bank. Joe had a lifelong interest in politics. He and Wheelock Whitney co-chaired the effort to elect Arne Carlson as Governor, and Joe served as the Governor's Chief of Staff. Later he volunteered for Obama. He also co-chaired The Saint Paul Foundation with Paul Verret. Outside of business, Joe provided his managerial skills to over 20 non-profits, serving on their boards of directors. Too numerous to list, these organizations included Penumbra Theater, Wisconsin Land Trust, WomenVenture, Twin Cities Jazz Society, Guthrie Theater, Walker Art Center, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Minneapolis Foundation, and Great River Greening of which he was a founder. The latter organization ultimately helped preserve 45,000 acres along the Mississippi. Joe also loved and played jazz on the piano, was an avid naturalist, gardener and fly fisherman at his cabin in Wisconsin, on numerous rivers in Wyoming and Montana and in Patagonia. Joe specified that he did not want to have a religious service and that he wanted his ashes buried beside his second wife in Tower-Soudan. The family will have a private gathering to honor Joe at a later date. If you would like to make an appreciative contribution in his name, send donations to The Nature Conservancy.

Published on December 17, 2023