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Kyner -- Walter Thomas Kyner Jr., 73, a Mathematics Professor at UNM from 1970 to his retirement in 1997, died late Saturday, April 10. He was preceded in death by his mother, Dorothy Schindelman Kyner and father, Chief Master Sergeant Walter Thomas Kyner, and his daughter, Lucille Kyner. Tom, and his first wife, Pat, were parents of Lucille, Anneli and Eric Thomas Kyner. Anneli now lives in California with her husband, Carl Lund, and Eric lives in San Diego, where he is completing his doctoral studies in Economics. When Tom was born, in 1926, he was warmly welcomed by his sister Frances Kyner, who became a loving, motherly, caregiver to him when their Mother died when Tom was four years old. Fran Kyner Guida has been his dearest friend and proud sister through all his life. Fran and Anneli have both been visiting Tom and his wife, Judy D. Woodward, at their home in Albuquerque, at Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital, and at the wonderful Kaseman Hospice facility. Tom's fine mind and quick humor remained a characteric until his last day. He did ask his wife to bring him"a bowl of Differential Equations" to help him be more creative in working out a problem the week before he died, but such fuzzy thinking was rare. He joined the US Navy in early 1944, as a radioman, and served until 1946, with overseas service in China after the war ended. He spent two years at UCLA studying engineering, then transferred to UC Berkeley for his BS in Physics, then earned a Masters and PhD in Mathematics at Berkeley. After two post doctoral years at the Courant Institute at NYU, he worked for a year at Northwestern, but he missed the West so much he took a job as an industrial mathematician with Shell Oil, in California. Fortunately, he was hired as an Assistant Professor by USC, where he became a distinguished Professor and taught, researched, and published in Celestial Mechanics until he moved to UNM and his new interest in Neurology. In typical Tom Kyner fashion he attended one year of medical school at UNM to get a firm foundation for his later medical research and publications. He served as Chairman of the Math Department, on the Faculty Senate, and on many committees at UNM. He was especially interested in improving the teaching of Middle School and High School Math, and in recruiting women and Hispanics to major in mathematics, as graduate students, and to serve on the faculty. In 1986 Tom and Judy Woodward were married, with great joy and delight in the life they could live together. Both families seemed happy with their union and it has been a marvelous experience for us all. Judy's children, Donald, Susan, Dianne, Eric, and Michael Glover, and their spouses have all loved Tom and feel gratitude that we have known him. Judy's grandchildren, Melanie and Jessica Erb, and Spencer and Hanna Glover-Wallis have enjoyed their"Grampa Tom", and he found their quickness and humor a great pleasure. Judy found such happiness and confidence from her good fortune at being married to Tom that family and friends have commented on the blessings their union seemed to bring. Walter Thomas Kyner will be in our thoughts and memories always. A Memorial celebrating Tom's life will be at the UNM Alumni Chapel on Friday, April 16, at 3:00 PM. A Reception will be held at the UNM President's House (now called"University House"), at 1901 Roma NE, on the campus of the University. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, friends might contribute to a Walter Thomas Kyner Award Fund, c/o Mathematics, UNM, Albuquerque, 87131, to be granted to a graduate student in Applied Mathematics at UNM each year.
        Published on: Fri April 16, 1999