Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Obituary

Oldsmar club president dies at 77

Betty R. Kinchen served as its president during lean and flush years, donating to keep it afloat and praising its arts center plans.

By RICHARD DANIELSON
Published March 4, 2005

OLDSMAR - Longtime local activist and Oldsmar Civic Club president Betty R. Kinchen died Tuesday (March 1, 2005) at age 77.

Mrs. Kinchen served as president of the club at least five times over the years, helped it through rough patches when membership dwindled and, more recently, spoke out on its behalf.

"At one point, when the Civic Club was financially strapped, she donated money to keep it going," club trustee Jim Campoli said. "She was very, very active in everything, and she's going to be sorely missed."

Over the past year, Mrs. Kinchen played a leading role in the difficult negotiations between the club and the city, which plans to build a new library on land the club now controls and has gone to court to secure the property. She fought for the club's interests while continuing to organize its other activities. Last fall, even as the club rejected an offer from the city, Mrs. Kinchen said a rummage sale to raise money for Oldsmar Fire Rescue would go on as planned.

"I don't hold a grudge," she said.

Mrs. Kinchen also played a key role in happier times between the club and the city.

In 1994, she was president of the club when it decided that it would donate its land at St. Petersburg Drive and Dartmouth Avenue to the city for an arts center. The group also agreed to lease its building on the site to the city for $1 a year until a permanent center was built. The city agreed to maintain the property and was scheduled to take full control of the property when the lease agreement expires in 2044.

At the time of the decision, City Council and club members celebrated together with champagne, and Mrs. Kinchen said it was "truly a historic day for us all."

Mayor Jerry Beverland said Mrs. Kinchen "was a good friend to the city."

"You could always count on what Betty said," he said. "She never told you one thing and did something else. She always kept her word."

Mrs. Kinchen was born in Georgia and came here from Spring Hope, N.C., in 1970. She was a homemaker and owned thoroughbred horses that raced at Tampa Bay Downs and other tracks. Her survivors include two sons, Robert L. Jr., Oldsmar, and Herman, Salem, N.H.; a daughter, Jane Warren, Crossville, Tenn.; seven grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren. Holloway Funeral Home of Oldsmar is handling arrangements.

[Last modified March 4, 2005, 00:31:15]