James L. Kinyon

James “Jim” Lewis Kinyon, 76, of Roland passed away May 10, 2022 at his home in Roland after a quiet two-year battle with cancer. Funeral services will be Saturday May 14 at 2:00pm at Bergen Lutheran Church in Roland. Burial will follow at the Roland Cemetery. Visitation will be Saturday at Bergen from 12:30-2pm. Jim was born on March 22, 1946 in Creston, Iowa to Myrtle (McNeely) and Keith Kinyon. He married Carol Hocken on January 20, 1968. Jim coached and taught in the Roland-Story school system from its consolidation in 1969 until his retirement in 2009. He taught 7-8th grade math and P.E. He honestly thought math was fun. He drove schoolbuses everywhere and anywhere, announced at softball games in the summer and football games in the fall. He exercised his nearly endless patience by teaching drivers’ ed and had an assortment of coffee-stained shirts to prove it. He started the wrestling program in 1969. He also coached football and track and became the junior high athletic director. He impacted countless kids through teaching and coaching, always believing both as a means to help kids reach their full potential, taking as much pride in his state champions as he did the ones who struggled to get that one precious win. He taught how to handle your losses as being equally important with the pride you can take in your wins. And that regardless of outcome, it’s important to push yourself, feed the fire within, and enjoy the fun of competition. His most proud professional accomplishments were inductions into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, the Iowa High School Athletic Association Wrestling Hall of Fame, and the Iowa High School Athletic Directors Hall of Fame. He loved his small Iowa town and built a life here with Carol, while also supporting his children when they struck out to see more of the world. He loved his coffee group of fellow retired teachers and yearly fishing trips to Canada. He loved attending the high school state wrestling tournament and traveling to the national wrestling tournament each year. And he loved road trips to see his children and grandchildren on the east coast and attending their activities. Along the way, their favorite stops included Nova Scotia and Lake Superior. He is survived by his best friend and wife Carol, his sisters Patricia and Carol and their families, his two children Deb and Jeff (and wife Dorothy), and his three grandchildren Sydney, Dana, and Sage. His endless optimism, positivity, compassion, sense of humor, and trademark laugh will be remembered by all who knew him. It was a robust well-lived 76 years, just like he intended. In lieu of flowers, a memorials may be made to the Roland-Story Wrestling Program.